Tsunami
by F4llon
Summary: Savannah series part 3 (Gina Callen's "I Hate Yellow part 2") — we see the ripple effect of the events of Callen meeting his father and discovering that he tried to adopt him when he was 9. A huge case takes the team undercover that will have an affect on Callen. Will the team be able to save him before it's too late? Will Baxter ever get to make peace with his son?
1. Chapter 1

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

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**Chapter 1**

**Operations of Special Projects, Los Angeles**

Henrietta Lange entered the old Spanish style building, making the most of the space to herself. It was a Sunday morning, the previous day had been an emotional day and she needed a distraction. A familiar pounding sound from the gymnasium caught her attention, before she even made it across the open space and up the two steps to her office. She carefully placed her handbag on the hook and headed in that direction. She furrowed her brow, he was the last person she had expected to see in the office that morning. She cleared her throat.

The figure stopped and turned, sweat beaded across his brow, the amount of moisture on his grey t-shirt, proved that he'd been at it for some time. "Hetty. What are you doing in here? It's Sunday." He turned to continue his attack on the sand bag and the older woman sighed. She would need a new leather bag sooner than later.

"I think that is what I should be asking you, Mr Callen." He paused on his assault. She knew that by calling him by her old name for him, she'd catch his attention.

"Hetty…"

"No, George. You cannot provide a good enough explanation of why you are in here this morning. Of all the mornings in your life, this is the one time when you should be at the hospital with your wife and sons."

He knew that she was right. Hetty was always right. He swallowed the hard lump in his throat and licked his lips. The woman may be tiny, but she could make any man nervous. Just like he was right then. She was the closest he'd had in a long time to a mother and he trusted her more than most. But he needed to be there, right then.

She caught the look in his eyes. That lost look, to say, I need to be here. Hetty walked the few steps over to him and gently placed her hand on his arm. "You'll make a wonderful husband and father, George. You have a good heart." She placed his hand on his heart and held it there. "What's in here, is what matters. Not what happened when you were nine years old." Memories of that day when she had called his social worker to move him from the Worthingtons flashed in the forefront of her mind. She had no idea who Baxter was, only that Clara's boy needed her help. He was heading down the wrong path to destruction once he'd made that choice to steal a car.

"But Hetty, I made the biggest mistake of my life…I thought I wasn't good enough for them. I thought that they were just like the others. After…" He couldn't go there, tell her what the doctor had done to him, after all that he'd been through already.

"None of it was your fault, George. Your father should have told you who he was. Your social worker should never have placed you in that home with that…man." She couldn't even find the right words to describe the animal who had destroyed every bit of good left in him. She shuddered at the memory.

A tear fell down his cheek. It was one of the worst times in his life. "Why didn't I know you then, Hetty? If you had come to rescue me back then…I could have come to live with you earlier and not gone to that place."

She gently squeezed his arm for comfort. "I am so sorry, George. It was too late before word got to me about what you'd suffered. I should have had a closer watch over you. The last time I had seen you, you were doing great. You were happy. Please, George. Remember the good ones, not the bad." Hetty sighed. It tore at her heart on how unfair life had been for the man before her. She was proud of what he'd become, even when the odds stacked against him.

Callen shook his head. "No, Hetty. You have nothing to apologise for. You saved me. When I was fifteen, you saved me from going back to jail. If it wasn't for you, I'd be in jail for who knows what crimes. But instead, I can use what skills I learned as a teenager, to help our government put the bad guys away."

Hetty smiled at his own admission.

"What are you smiling about?" He looked at her slightly confused.

"You've always had a good heart, George. You've suffered more than you should have. More than anyone should have. They treated you like an animal, you never deserved any of it. But you found your way eventually, and look at you now. A good man, whose risked his own life to keep the people of this country safe. You couldn't have made me more proud." She sniffed back the emotion that threatened.

Callen bended over and hugged her. "Thanks, Hetty. I needed that." He looked over towards the showers.

"I'll brew a pot of tea, while you have a shower. I'll meet you in my office." She turned with a beaming smile on her lips. Her boy had grown up and she was indeed proud of him. It broke at her to see him doubt his self worth, after all that she'd done for him and that he'd proven to those around him. She wasn't surprised at the reason why all these emotions from the past had come back to hit Callen with another tsunami. His father showing up like he had the day before at his wedding, and his admittance of trying to adopt him when he was nine, had brought back the darkest of days for him. He needed all the love and support from his family and team to help him deal with it all. She smiled when she heard his familiar steps across the tiled floor. She looked up at him and smiled. "How do you feel now, George?"

Callen sunk into the cane chair opposite her and took her offering of a cup of tea. He shouldn't have been surprised by her choice of chrysanthemum tea. How many times had she told them about it's soothing qualities? He'd lost count. He took a sip and savoured the beverage. "A little better, thanks to you, Hetty." He took another sip before continuing. "So you were around when I was nine?"

Hetty nodded her head and her smile vanished from her lips. She took in a deep breath and waited for him to talk to her.

"I remember being happy, I was with a nice lady and she painted my bedroom yellow. It was my favourite colour back then. But then…" his visage darkened as the memory washed over him.

There was no judgement in Hetty's eyes as she too took another sip of the soothing tea. She sat and listened and had all the time in the world for him.

"The next place, they ruined everything. He…" Callen couldn't even say the man's name, he'd tried as hard as he could to block out the man's name from his memory. "He did things that no one should ever do to a child. I hated yellow after that. Nothing I had ever loved before brought the comfort it had again. It changed me. Sent me on a dark path, towards hatred, crime and I felt numb. So numb that it didn't matter what anyone tried to do or say to me afterwards, no one was going to hurt me again like he had." He took in a ragged breath, it laid heavily on his chest. "Then the Worthingtons took me in. They were nice, especially Gloria. I remember how kind she was. But Baxter….he had this look that scared me. I thought he was ready to hit me, like…" Callen wiped his hands over his face as he tried to clear the cobwebs away from his memory. "But I got it wrong. He was angry, but not at me. I thought he was angry at me. I was used to men being angry at me, with me, telling me it was always my fault. If only I had known…"

"You were but a child, my dear George. No one can expect a child to understand grown up things. If only I had found out, I could have helped, all I did was have your social worker remove you from there. I saw how scared you were, how broken you'd become in such a short time. It scared me on how quickly you'd changed."

Callen knitted his brows together. "That was you? You sent my social worker to the Worthingtons'?"

"That I did. And now that I know the truth, I wish I hadn't. You could have lived with your father, found out who you really were, and so much of your past would have been different."

Callen shook his head. "No, Hetty. I only returned to collect my bag. I was running away. I was leaving no matter what. But I remember how sad they looked when I left. I kept hoping that Baxter and Gloria would fight for me, but they didn't." A tear escaped. "Why didn't they fight for me?"

"I've been thinking over that exact question myself, George. From what I remember, you were in such a bad state at the time, I think your father blamed himself for what had happened to you and he couldn't deal with it."

The pain in Callen's chest was strong. Every painful memory of that time returned and hit him with full force. The tears fell more freely and he quickly stood up and left her. He needed the time to take everything in. To deal with the emotions that threatened to destroy the hard work he'd done to lock it away. But it was no good.

She let him be, giving him the space that he needed. She poured a second cup of tea and sipped, while she opened her laptop and tried to focus on work.

Another set of footsteps came her way. Much heavier than Callen's. She looked up and smiled at her visitor.

"Hetty."

"Mr Getz. It's always a lovely surprise to see you back here. What can I do for you?"

"Where is he?"

Hetty raised her brow, "who?"

Nate sat down in the chair that Callen had recently vacated and sighed. "Savannah's worried about him. He left her two hours ago and he's not answering his cell." He caught Hetty's gaze up to the second floor and followed it.

"I think he needs some time to deal with everything, Nate." Hetty poured a third tea cup with the chrysanthemum tea. "Drink this."

Nate took the cup and sipped. He was more a coffee person, but he'd accept the gesture, knowing that it was more a ritual with the older woman. "Has he said anything to you?"

Hetty pursed her lips.

"I take that as a yes then. That's good. He needs to speak to someone. I'm glad that he's opening up to you."

"We have a long history together. He sees me as a surrogate mother. So that helps."

"How far back, Hetty? How far back has Callen known that you've been there for him?" She'd allowed him access to his limited file, most of which had been redacted.

"Since he was fifteen. I had to step in to save him from the path he was heading down."

"But that wasn't the first time that you'd stepped in, was it?"

She took in a deep breath and shook her head. "No. I found him when he was seven. But he never knew about me until he was fifteen. I took him out of the orphanage where I had found him and tried to find him a good home. There were a few good ones, but they kept moving him. In the end, the experiences he'd suffered, destroyed him. I had to step in when he was nine. He'd stolen his first vehicle. Only yesterday, have both of us realised whose car it was."

"His father's?" Nate had heard how Baxter Worthington had tried to adopt his son at nine.

"Yes. But it was I who forced his social worker's hand to move him on from them. I couldn't risk him being sent to a boys' home. I had no idea that I was moving him away from his father. Baxter never said. George had stolen the car to run away. He mistook Baxter's anger at the previous foster father and the doctor who was suppose to treat him at the hospital."

"He thought that Baxter was angry at him?"

"Yes. Whether I stepped in and had him moved or not, he was running away."

"George has just admitted to me, that he'd wished that Baxter and Gloria had fought for him back then. But they didn't and he still cannot understand why they didn't. Until he sorts this out, I don't think that there's any chance of him seeing his father again."

"His father won't leave until he does. He's with Savannah and the twins right now. I've just left them. It's affected Baxter more than we realised. It may appear that he's gone on with his life without his older children, but it's been a burden on him for all of this time. Both Callen and Baxter need to deal with this. Otherwise it's going to destroy the two of them. And I'm not sure that Baxter will recover as well from another stroke, the next time."

Hetty broke the pencil in her hand. That had worried her too. "I agree. But we can't force George to see his father, if he's not ready for it."

"Let me speak with him. See if I can persuade him to see Baxter."

"No." They both looked over to the figure that leaned on the pillar. "I'm sorry, Nate. But I can't. It's one thing to keep everyone happy yesterday, but now that our wedding is over, I will not be forced into talking with him. He had his chance when I was nine. Tell me when he's left the hospital and then I will return to see Sav and our boys." He exited the mission, grabbing his car keys on the way out.

"Oh Bugger."


	2. Chapter 2

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

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**Chapter 2**

**Will Rogers State Beach**

Callen ran the distance along the water's edge, trying to clear his mind of the memory that haunted him and the emotions that threatened to destroy him. They'd had taken over his dreams and instead of having a restful sleep next to his wife, he'd barely slept two hours. The bags under his eyes sagged, showing the strain of his meeting with his father, the day before. It was one thing to find out who his father was, but for him to turn up out of the blue at their house when he was about to marry Savannah, was another. But then his father's admission, that he had tried to adopt him, had been the last straw. Memories of when he was nine had long been pushed aside to the deepest part of his memory, that he'd finally after years of practise, managed to lock them away. He'd thought they would be lost forever, but they had so easily returned to the forefront of his mind. It rattled him.

He'd started at the northern end of the beach and was nearing the Santa Monica Pier, when his cell rang.

"George, where are you?" He heard the worry in his wife's voice. Barely married a day and he'd already left.

"I'm in the middle of a run. I'll be back once I return to the car."

"Are you okay?" He heard her voice soften, she understood him better than he did himself, sometimes.

"I'm not sure." He'd learned months earlier the importance to drop the barriers around his heart, when it came to Savannah. If he closed her off, she was good at breaking them down anyway.

"Your father was here earlier. He really wants to see you."

"He saw me yesterday, Sav. He can go home now."

"You're not being fair on him. He's suffered too, you know. Would you care if he suffered another stroke from the stress of you refusing to see him?"

"That's not fair, Sav. What happened in the past, you have no idea..."

"Tell me. So I can understand."

He wiped the sweat from his brow with the bottom of his t-shirt. "I'm not sure I can."

Savannah sighed. "I'll be down in the Special Care nursery, you can find me there."

He disconnected the call and sat on the soft white sand. He stared out at the waves, taking in the soothing sound of them crashing onto the shore. A gentle breeze sent a shiver across his skin, cooling his body from his run.

He took in a deep breath and slowly released it. **_'Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'_** That famous quote from Forest Gump had always meant so much to him, after all that he'd endured in his life. Mostly he found the foul tasting chocolates, not the delicious ones that he wished for. Other children, good children were given them instead. He was given the ones no one wanted and after a while, he'd accepted them as what he deserved. Until Hetty entered his life. Since then, so much had changed. He'd been given a chance of making a difference. Fighting for good for his country. Saving the innocent and taking down the bad guys. He had sunk his life into his work, it was what had kept him going, not having a family. Then he'd met some people along the way that had mattered. They had become family and now, he was where he was happiest. Hetty again had saved him. Provided a partner who looked out for him and saw him as a brother. Sam Hanna was a rare breed, like Hetty. They'd seen past his faults and tried hard, and fought for him. A tear escaped and he quickly wiped it away. They had fought for him, when his own father hadn't. Every thought and emotion returned to that point.

He watched a family carry their gear onto the beach for an outing. The children were small and he thought about him and Savannah doing the same thing with her children and the twins when they were older. Little legs waddling on the sand, trying to keep their balance as they help carry a bucket down to the water's edge. The mother fussed over her children, as the father laid out the towels and umbrella on the sand. His heart squeezed tight inside his chest. So much he'd missed out on. It just wasn't fair. He needed to get away from them, from the reminder of what he'd missed out on. He headed back north on the beach, to where he'd parked his car. As his feet pounded on the wet sand, he became determined to change things with his own children. He would fight for them. Each and every time something bad came their way, he would fight.

**Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre**

Savannah looked up with a smile across her face as she fed Samuel on the breast. She'd already fed Nathan and now Amy held her nephew in her arms.

Callen entered and washed his hands, before he walked over to them. Watching Savannah with Samuel melted his heart. His beautiful wife feeding one of their sons was one of the most beautiful things he'd witnessed in his life. What a mother did for her children because she loved them, was still very much a foreign thing for Callen. But his love grew deeper for his wife at the birth of their sons. Not only had she given him a son, but two, was also something that Callen was trying to get his head around. Two beautiful sons that had his fair hair and cerulean eyes. He didn't feel like he'd deserved either. He gently kissed Savannah on the temple and sat down next to her. He watched Samuel suck and he traced his hairline with the tip of his finger. His son grabbed his little finger with his tiny ones and held on tight. His son was not letting him go. His heart grew with a new feeling of being wanted. His own son wanted him there with him. How much he'd wanted the same. He mentally scolded himself for not fighting with all that he had, to give his father a chance when he was nine. Why hadn't he seen the love in Baxter's eyes? Seen the effects of what had happened to him, tear at his father?

"You were only a child, George." Hetty's words echoed inside his head. "No one should have expected you to know the difference of your father's anger, from 'at you,' to 'for you.' After all you'd been through, it's not surprising that you feared him."

Callen shuddered as he tried to push the thoughts to the back of his head and focus on now. "Daddy's not going anywhere, Samuel. You hold on tight, I'm right here."

A tear fell down Savannah's cheek, as Callen's words entered her heart. She knew he was struggling from the day before, but she was determined to be there for him.

Callen gently brushed her tear away and stared into her green eyes. "I'm sorry if you were worrying about me, Sav. I needed time to think." He captured her lips with his and savoured her taste. "I love you, Sav. More now than ever, you've given me a family. Two beautiful sons. I'll never let anything happen to any of you."

"I know that, George." She lifted Samuel up onto her shoulder to burp him. "You haven't held Nathan since last night, do you want to hold him now?"

"I have, early this morning. I couldn't sleep." He looked over at his sister as she bonded with their other son.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" Savannah saw the shadows under his eyes and she continued to worry about him.

"A little." He swallowed hard and took Nathan from Amy. "Hey little man. Daddy's back. Now let me tell you a story about your Uncle Nate. Once upon a time, he was out at a bar with his friends. It was karaoke night and he was determined to sing a Back Street Boys' songs. But Daddy tried to save him from the embarrassment. But Uncle Nate refused and he got so drunk that he totally embarrassed himself in front of everyone at the bar, singing one of their songs. Now when you're older and Uncle Nate tries to get you to sing a boy band song, I want you to shake your head firmly and say, 'NO.'"

Savannah laughed, she'd heard the story before, how Nate got drunk and sung the Back Street Boys song. Callen had ensured that she knew all the funny stories of Nate's while he worked at OSP. "Somehow I don't think Nate would dare to try and persuade our sons to sing one of their songs, George. He'd be too scared that you'd harm him for it."

"So he should." Callen grinned over to her and for a moment, all his haunted memories vanished.

Savannah laughed and his face beamed over to her. She was beautiful and she took his breath away. Finally, after a forty year wait, he had his turn at normality. Living the American Dream of a beautiful wife and children. There was hope for him to coach little league one day, to watch his sons grow and teach them everything that there was to learn.

Amy smiled and nodded her head over to Savannah. How far both her brother and Savannah had come in such a short time. Both had suffered too many losses and now they had the chance of having their happy ever after. The boys drifted off to sleep and Amy saw her opportunity to steal her brother away for a walk and a talk. She hoped that she might change his heart and meet with their father. They went with Savannah back up to her room and stayed for a while, but soon Savannah drifted off to sleep and Amy finally had her chance with him. They tiptoed out of the room, closing the door behind them. "Let's get some coffee. You look tired, George."

Callen nodded and followed, he relished the time alone with his sister. It was a rarity these days, especially after Robert and their sons return. But he was happy for her and accepted what he could get with her. They found a cafe tucked around the corner from the medical centre and entered. They ordered and sat in a quiet corner.

"Dad looked disappointed that you weren't here this morning."

"I don't know what he was expecting, Amy. I'm surprised that you've been so welcoming, after all he's done. He deserted us when we needed him. We were little, defenceless. If you hadn't had Granger step in like he had, you wouldn't even be alive today. Don't forget that, Amy."

She knew that he was right, but still, she felt the need to reconnect with their father. "It's not healthy to hold onto the hurt, you know. You need to let go, if not for his sake, your own. It's tearing at you on the inside, please, give him a chance."

"I did once. He let me down. I needed him then. I don't now." He took a sip of his coffee, scanning the cafe for danger. It was a habit he'd continued since he could remember, way before he became a Federal Agent.

"Why won't you tell me what happened? When Dad tried to adopt you." She watched a myriad of emotions flash across his face, before he could hide them.

"You don't want to go there, Amy. It wasn't a good time in my life." She saw his muscles flex in his arms and shoulders.

"Maybe you need to talk to someone about it. Like Nate, for instance. You know him well."

Callen shook his head. "No." He was more forceful in his response than he'd intended on being, but he couldn't help himself.

"I know it's been tough for you, but isn't it time to put the past behind you and focus on now?"

A cynical laugh escaped his throat. "I'm trying, but everyone keeps brining up the past."

It was a battle that Amy could see that she was going to lose. Her brother was broken and from what she gathered, the time their father had entered his life, things were pretty bad. It worried her, because he'd only been nine at the time. She would have to speak with their father, perhaps he could shed a light on the matter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

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**Chapter 3**

**OSP, Los Angeles — two weeks later**

Life continued on at a steady pace for the next two weeks, but Callen had refused to see his father. Savannah returned home with the twins, three days earlier and they had settled into a good routine.

An urgent call went out to the team and they each made their way into the office. Callen ran up the stairs and entered Ops.

Hetty sighed from her desk, he shouldn't have been called in, but he was needed. "What have you got, Eric?"

Sam, Deeks and Kensi looked over to him and wished that he'd could have spent one more week with his wife and sons before he was dragged back into the thick of it, but as Eric and Nell briefed the team, the severity of the problem became clear.

Last night, Pendleton was invaded by Russian separatists. They are an underground group called Moshchnyy Rossii.

"Powerful Russia," Callen stated, knowing that the others wouldn't know what the name meant.

"The CIA, NCIS, the DOD and the FBI have had agents deep undercover for sometime, but none of them knew about last night's invasion." Eric played a video. Screeches of tires were heard as armoured trucks rammed down gates and entered the secured military base. Gunfire rained from security guards and the armoured trucks, an all out battle took place, but the invaders were well prepared.

The agents were dumbstruck. They'd never seen such an attack on US soil on a military base. Memories of 9/11 returned to the forefront of their minds. A shiver ran down Callen's back as he studied the video.

"What were the casualties?" Sam inquired, worry for his fellow marines etched in his brow.

"We lost fifteen marines, twenty critically injured, another eleven, with minor injuries." Almost fifty marines injured or killed. That was too many for any place, let alone on home soil.

"Do we know what they were after?" Callen remained fixed on the video, not daring to look at his team. Kensi was a marine brat, she knew these people. Sam was a former SEAL, he too would be feeling the effects. They all were, but they were feeling it the most.

"They entered through Fallbrook Gate and went straight for the Weapons Station. We're still trying to ascertain exactly what they stole."

"Does anyone know where they went?" Deeks stepped forward, taking a more closer look at the video. He gave Kensi a sideway glance and could see the worry in her eyes.

"They were last seen heading north on Interstate 15."

"So basically, they could be anywhere by now." Anger rippled through Callen's body. Why had it taken them so long to be told about this. They should have been out there last night finding these Russians.

"Unfortunately, they are, George." Hetty entered and saw the look of destruction on her agents' faces.

Callen looked to his team. "We better get down there and see if they left any evidence to help us find them."

"Not so fast, Mr Callen." Callen snapped his attention to their Operations Manager. Yet again, she used his family name. He'd hoped that since he'd learned who he really was, that she would stop calling him that and only use his first name. He'd gone for so long without it after all.

She saw the look, but this was serious. "Director Vance wants us working with the agents already deep undercover for this operation." She looked at their expectant faces, wondering what was ahead of them.

"Unfortunately, it means that you will be split up." She turned to her analyst. "Miss Jones, could you please bring up the details of the undercover agents."

Nell nodded and brought their details up onto the screen. "NCIS Agent Ramon Donati has been deep undercover with a group of street racers, who we believe were behind last night's raid. The style of driving through the gate and how fast they vanished verifies that some of their group were involved. We're still trying to get hold of Donati to verify details."

"Donati's NCIS now?" Sam raised his brow, he'd known Ramon Donati down in Coronado, when he was a SEAL.

"Yes, Mr Hanna. Your history with Agent Donati should be an advantage for him to get you into the group. Director Vance has given us the green light for you to take the challenger. I have our people placing the necessary equipment into your vehicle as we speak."

Callen glanced at his partner, concern for Sam going in like this grew within him. He didn't like it one bit that the team were being split up. They were a family and they were strong as a team.

"Do you want me to stay close and have Sam's back, Hetty?"

"No. You will be assigned to CIA officer, Ethan Wiles. He's been working deep within the Russian group in Moscow. You will head out to London to meet with him there and join up with a fellow female CIA officer, Jennifer Ashley, and he will get you both into the group."

Callen studied their details. Wiles was around his height, slightly more solid than himself, hair had darkened from blond like his own, also with blue eyes. He'd never crossed paths with Wiles before, and his trust issues began to fester once more. He looked at the woman. Jennifer Ashley. A brunette, long legs and brown eyes. She was a beauty, Callen had to admit, but nothing on Savannah, that was a certain. A knot twisted tight in the pit of his gut, he was leaving Savannah alone with their children. He had no idea how long he was going to be undercover and he worried that Samuel and Nathan would forget that he was their daddy while he was gone.

"Can't someone else go, Hetty?"

She noted his reluctance to go on this op and she wasn't surprised one bit. A newly wed and father to boot, with so many issues to resolve around his reunion with his father. The timing of this operation couldn't have come at a worse time. But they needed to act fast, find these Russians who were behind last night's attack and take back their stolen weapons. They were thankful that no nuclear weapons were taken. They were kept at a different facility and for now, remained highly guarded. But after the brazen attack on Pendleton, security at all bases across the country had been tightened.

"I'm sorry, George." She weakened her resolve to be professional with him with this case, but he was her weak spot after all. "But this comes from the directors of all the agencies involved. You have experience with deep cover work inside of Russia. You speak the language fluently as if you've lived there all of your life. You were chosen to join Officers Wiles and Ashley on this operation, even before last night's raid. The raid at Pendleton has only brought the need for this team's involvement in earlier than first planned."

He didn't like it one bit. "I'm not supposed to be here, Hetty. I'm not only on my honeymoon still, but also on paternity leave." Not that they made it to their destination that he'd planned. The early arrival of their sons changed everything. Now this case was taking him away from them.

"We're all well aware, George. I have tried, but Director Vance outranks me on this."

Callen saw Hetty's own frustrations fester, although she tried hard to keep her cool.

"When do I leave?" He looked over to Sam, who also was leaving his family for who knows how long.

"Tonight."

His eyes widened. "What?" Panic ensued him. He looked at his watch, it was now noon. He had six hours left before he had to be at LAX to check in.

"Go home, George. Spend this time with Savannah and the boys. We have no idea how long you will be away. Miss Jones will bring your ticket and passport over to your house."

He looked lost over to his partner and the junior members of the team. "Stay safe. All of you." He didn't like it one bit. He gave Sam a man hug and continued on to Kensi and Deeks. For some reason, he feared if he'd see any of them again. He turned to Eric, Nell and Hetty. "Make sure they're safe at all times."

"We will." It was all that Nell could muster and she wiped away a tear from her eyes. Her sister would be beside herself if she knew the details of this case. It was a good thing that Savannah had no knowledge. Callen was going into the lion's den. Right into the heart of this group, who would stop at nothing to destroy America and any western country who would fight them on becoming the super power that they had once been.

Callen bolted out the door, he couldn't get home quick enough. As he drove home, his mind wandered to how he would tell Sav that he was leaving for an unknown time. He pressed speed dial and called Amy.

"Hey, George. How's the twins settling in at home?"

She sounded chirpy and it was bizarre in comparison to how he felt. His heart felt heavy and a dread for this operation overcame him. "Hi, sis." He tried to put his cheery voice on. "They're both doing great. Sleeping through already."

"That's great."

"Hey, can you do me a favour?"

"Yeah sure. What is it?"

"I have to go out of town for work, not sure how long. Can you keep an eye on Sav, make sure she's doing okay? Nell's going to move in with her, to help."

Amy stood still in her kitchen and looked out at the ocean. The waves crashed onto the beach, but her focus was not on the picturesque scene outside.

"Amy?" He worried over her silence.

"Yeah, sure." She furrowed her brow and memories of Mark going on his last operation returned to her. She shuddered and goose bumps spread over her skin.

"Stay safe, George. We all need you to come home safe."

"I will. You know me. I'm a survivor." He was trying to convince himself, but no matter how much he tried, the worry that had already started to fester in his gut wouldn't shift.

"Of course. You have Sam with you. You both take care of each other."

"Thanks, Amy." He disconnected the call. He couldn't tell her that he was going away on his own and meeting up with strangers for this case. Nor that Sam would be going deep undercover with a fellow former SEAL, with a street racing group, who had known ties with this Russian group that he was going to meet. He managed a smile as he entered the house. He could hear Savannah singing softly to their sons and he found her upstairs in the nursery. Both boys were awake and he was thankful that they were. He scooped Samuel up into his arms and hugged him tight.

Savannah smiled over to him, the sight of seeing Callen so in love with their sons warmed her heart. She understood that he had a lot to deal with, but when it came to her and their children, he was the perfect husband and father. Milly and Archie loved Callen and he was great with them, as if they were his own flesh and blood. "Your timing is perfect. They both decided to wake up and demand a feed at the same time. Now that you're here, you can entertain Samuel, while I feed Nathan first."

Callen gave her a warm smile and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Where else would I want to be?" He took Samuel with him up to the master bedroom and pulled out his suitcase. He carefully laid Samuel on the bed, propped up on a pillow, so his son could watch him pack. He folded shirts, trousers and casual clothes. He was prepared for anything. He found his toiletry bag and packed that too and then his back up weapon and Sig. He opened a safe and pulled out packets of shells and placed them inside the secret compartments of the case. Hetty had personally provided each of them with their suitcases for such an occasion, so they could carry their weapons in their bags, without raising suspicion.

Savannah heard Callen talking to Samuel and followed his voice. She stopped still when she saw the suitcase. When he looked up and saw her, guilt flashed across his face.

"When were you going to tell me…"

He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her and Nathan. He gently kissed her on the temple and held her close. "This is the last thing I want to be doing, Sav. I tried, Hetty's tried, but this has come from up high. I've got to go."

"How long?" Her emotions were all over the place since having the boys. She was tired and still adjusting to having babies in the house again. The routine was returning to her, but fear for going it alone again consumed her.

"I don't know." He sighed and wiped her tears. "Don't cry, Sav. Please. I'll be home before you know it."

Savannah pulled away, she couldn't do this again. Lose another loved one.

"Sav…"

She handed him Nathan and walked over to Samuel, picked him up and exited the room.

He gave her the space, but really he needed to be with her for every moment that he had left with them. Not like this. He paced the room and then decided to find her. Callen watched her change Samuel's nappy and sing to him. He gave her a smile, well what Callen thought looked like a smile. His blue eyes widened and he looked very alert. Samuel was focused on Savannah's voice and an idea popped into his head. He left her there and went downstairs looking for the video camera. He set it up on a stand and sat down on a chair. He pressed record and stared at the camera for a moment, before he started.


	4. Chapter 4

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Ops Centre, Los Angeles**

"So, Hetty, what do you want us to do?" Deeks looked over to their petite Operations Manager, hoping for some better news than what had been given to their senior members.

"Ah." Hetty nodded over to Nell, who brought up more details. "Mr Deeks. You will stay here in California. FBI agent Michael Rosso, will get you into a local law firm, Harrison Clark. They have known ties to this Russian separatist group, handling their joint venture with the street racers and other businesses they have here on the west coast. He's been working there for two years and you'll be working along side him. He'll meet you in the boat shed," she looked at her watch, "in fifteen minutes. I suggest you head there now."

Deeks gently squeezed Kensi's hand before he left. He hoped he would have more time to give her a proper farewell.

"Miss Blye." Hetty turned her attention to the remaining field agent.

Kensi watched her closely, as tension built up inside of her.

"Major Steve Hudson will be working with you over in Prague. He'll meet you at LAX in an hour. I suggest that you make haste to give your partner a proper farewell." Kensi looked quickly at the Major's details and engraved them on her brain and quickly followed her partner. She managed to catch up with him just as he was about to leave.

He saw her urgency and fear for them all grew within him. "Kens, please…" He saw her eyes glisten. "We'll catch up soon, okay?"

She nodded, but he had no idea where she was going. He pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her, gently pressing his lips to her temple. "I love you, Fern. Stay safe."

"Ditto." She looked up into his blue eyes and struggled to keep her composure. She gave him a watery smile, through the tears that threatened to spill.

He captured her lips one last time and exited the mission. She stood there for a moment, hugging herself as she felt Nell standing beside her.

"I'll make sure he is safe, Kens. You stay safe too. You might bump into Callen, make sure he comes home in one piece."

Kensi nodded and gave her a quick hug. "I will."

She walked to the bull pen and hesitated. She remembered the fun banter that they had in this space. A place where they came together as a family and could relax, when they were waiting for the next case. She wiped the tears and grabbed her things and left. Not knowing when or if she'll see her partner or team again.

**Callen's house — the next day**

Savannah hardly slept a wink and she was crying when Nell walked into the kitchen.

"Sav?" Nell hugged her sister, worry for her and Callen grew within her. He'd left for London the night before and she hadn't heard from his burn phone as yet. She looked at her watch, he should be there by now.

"I know I'm over reacting, Nell. But I can't help myself. The twins are so young, only two weeks old and their dad has gone out of town for work. After…"

Nell gently squeezed her hand. "I know. You have every right to be worried, but George will be okay." He had to be, Nell told herself. She wasn't sure what it would do to Savannah if anything happened to him. It was difficult for her to keep what she knew about this operation from her. She gave her sister a smile, trying to hide her own fears. "I'll take Milly and Archie to Amy's if you like?"

Ever since Amy had reunited with her brother and had her husband and sons home again, she returned to her real name. It was pointless now to hide from who she really was, now that the Comescus had been destroyed. Except for her husband Robert and their sons, they were all that were left of the Romanian crime family.

"They'd like that. They can play on the beach and hang out with their older cousins. Thanks." Savannah tried to return her kid sister's smile, and almost achieved it. But the lack of sleep from worrying over Callen had her tossing in her sleep. She needed to pull herself together, or she'd lose her milk supply and she'd end up with two miserable boys.

Nell prepared breakfast for her older niece and nephew, who trod down the stairs, with sleepy eyes. "Good morning sleepy eyes one and two. How about a day at the beach with your Aunt Amy?"

Milly smiled over to her aunt. "Yes, please." She tucked into her breakfast and poked her brother, causing him to squirm.

"Hey." Archie tried to poke his sister back.

Nell smiled at them, they were great kids and she loved them both. But she worried how having Callen away for a long stint would have an affect on them. Her cell rang, she recognised the number as Callen's burn phone and answered, walking out back. "Hey, you made it okay?"

Callen heaved out a sigh as he looked out at the dreary London sky. It was supposed to be summer, but today looked more like winter. It did nothing to dissolve his mood. "Yes. Is she there?"

Nell knew he'd be desperate to speak with Savannah. It was expected, which is why she waited until he'd called before she left for work. She would drop Milly and Archie off at Amy's on the way. Nell turned and saw Savannah watching her from the upstairs window. She waved to her and saw her leave. It didn't take long for Savannah to exit the back door. "She's here." Nell passed her cell over to her sister.

"Hey, beautiful. I miss you."

"I miss you too. We all do." Savannah took a walk around the garden as she listened to his voice.

"Where are you?"

"Somewhere dreary." He wasn't allowed to give her details, it was for her safety as much as his. His heart ached to be with her. "How is everyone? Did you sleep okay?" He spent more time worrying about her than himself, during his long flight.

"Everyone is fine. Milly and Archie are doing their usual poking during breakfast. Samuel and Nathan slept through. I was just about to bring them downstairs, when you called."

"Did you get any sleep, Sav?" He knew how she must be feeling, especially after what happened to Mark.

She took in a deep breath. "I tried." Her eyes darted over to Nell, who now sat at the patio table and chairs, eating her breakfast and drinking a cup of tea. Her sister was trying hard, she would give her credit for that. Trying her best to act like this was normal. But for some unexplained reason, Callen's sudden out of town mission didn't sit well with her. So she worried. Tossed and turned, all sorts of scenarios flashed through her synapses all night long.

"Our boys need you to take care of yourself, Sav. Please don't worry about me. I have back up with me 24/7." What he deliberately left out was that he was yet to meet said back up. Wiles and Ashley were going to meet him in an hour at his hotel room. It took him much longer to get through passport controls and a taxi to his hotel. He was exhausted and hoped to get an hour's sleep before he met with them.

She nodded her head, although she knew that he couldn't see her action. "I know. Take care, I love you."

"I love you too." He hesitated, he hated to hang up on her. He should be there with her, with his family, not in London. But she did it for him, she disconnected the call, leaving them both sad at the separation.

Nell vanished into the house and collected her things and her niece and nephew. "Ready?"

Milly and Archie nodded, holding up their beach bags, hats and showed her their flip flops, already on their feet.

"Good." She turned and hugged Savannah and gently placed a kiss on Samuel and Nathan's foreheads.

"Be good for Mom, boys. Love you both so much."

Savannah handed her cell back and hugged her. "Thanks, Nell. I needed to hear his voice." She turned to her older two children. "Be good for Aunt Amy, and have fun." She gave them each a hug and tickle, before scooting them out the front door toward's Nell's mini cooper.

**OSP, Los Angeles**

When Nell entered the Spanish style building, she could hear the echo of her shoes on the tiled floor, and the building felt vacant. As she walked past the bull pen, she paused and looked at how empty it was. It should be filled with her family, chatting, laughing, teasing each other. She took in a deep breath and ran up the stairs. At least she and Eric would be busy working from their end on the computers in Ops, and hopefully forget the vacant chairs down below.

**Piccadilly Circus, London**

Callen heard a knock on his hotel room and looked through the peephole. He recognised the face as Jennifer Ashely and opened the door for her. "Hi. Come on in." Ashley looked him over and smiled.

"Hi. Welcome to London." He picked up on her English accent immediately and watched her scan the suite.

"Couldn't you put some sunshine on with the welcome? How do you survive if summers are like this?"

"You've been in California for too long, Agent Callen. You're getting soft. I remember a time when you spent six months in a small Russian town during the most glum winter months that I have ever encountered, and you're complaining about our weather?"

Callen furrowed his brow. He thought back to the time she spoke of. He was working for the DEA at the time, it was when he'd first met Arkady Kolcheck. "You must have me confused with someone else. We've never met before." He watched her closely, he noted the raised brow and hint of amusement in her eyes.

"Wow, this is going to be awkward then." She walked over to the armchair and sat down, crossing her long lean legs.

Callen followed her movements, as he tried hard to place her in Russia. He wished he had Arkady there with him to help him remember. A second knock on the door caught his attention, leading him away from her. He looked through the peep hole and recognised Wiles. Callen opened the door and welcomed him inside.

Wiles smiled over to Ashley before turning his attention to back to Callen. "Agent Callen. I see you and Ashley have reacquainted yourselves again." Wiles saw a hint of confusion in Callen's facial expressions before he hid them. He turned back to Ashley.

"He doesn't remember me," she told him.

"Oh. Well, this is awkward. I was reassured that this wouldn't be a problem." Wiles looked over to Callen.

"I was told that you are a very observant agent who never forgets a face. So I am puzzled as to why you don't remember Officer Ashley? Your history together is imperative for this operation's success."

"Like I told Officer Ashley, you must have me confused with someone else. I have no memory of ever meeting her."

"You are Agent G. Callen of NCIS?" Wiles stepped forward, checking his every facial movement, that he was who he said he was.

Callen gave a slight laugh. "So I'm told." He looked back over to Ashley, he still couldn't pin point ever meeting her before. And he definitely remembers those he's met before. "Perhaps Officer Ashley is not who she claims to be?" Callen stated, trying to figure out why this meeting has turned haywire so soon.

Wiles' expression turned into a broad smile and laughed. "Welcome to London, Agent Callen. It's good to see that you are as sharp as I've been told."

Callen looked between the two CIA operatives and realised it had been a ruse to check that he was truly Agent Callen. He relaxed and greeted them both with a hand shake.

"Now we have that out of the way, here's your new alias for this operation." Wiles handed him a file and Callen immediately opened and scanned the document. He closed it and looked over to Ashley. He studied her more closely, taking in every facial detail of her and imprinting them into his memory.

"You've read that already?" Ashley was impressed.

Callen slightly raised one brow and continued to bore his cerulean orbs into her brown ones, and shrugged.

Wiles looked between the two and he knew from Callen's glare that he'd read the details for his and Ashley's supposed relationship in this operation. Callen was sizing Ashley up, prepping for his alias as Vladimir Dorosh.

"Good, let's get into the nitty gritty then." Wiles opened up his laptop and sat down at the dining table with Callen and Ashley, pleased to be getting on with the task at hand. The sooner they got this sorted, the sooner they would be in Moscow and get on with the show.


	5. Chapter 5

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Prague**

Kensi was tired from the long haul flight and she was still adjusting to the time difference. She'd hardly seen the city on her travels from the airport to her new apartment, which she was to share with Major Steve Hudson. They'd boarded their flight from LAX as husband and wife, Susan and Clive Sommerwill. Undercover came naturally to Kensi, after the years she'd worked at OSP, but that was with the team, people she trusted and were family to her. But to be the wife of an unknown Major from the DOD, she found it more challenging.

It was late in the day as she pulled herself from the bed and showered. She allowed the warm water to wash over her and soothe the tired muscles from being stuck in a plane for over eleven hours. She heard movement just outside the door and grabbed a towel, wrapping her wet body.

The door opened and her companion smiled over to her.

"Every heard of knocking?" She glared at him, not liking the fact that he just waltzed in like he had.

"Look, I was told that you're well accustomed to undercover work. So while we're working together, we need to be Susan and Clive. Clive would come into the bathroom while Susan is in here, okay?"

"Just knock next time, will you? Give me a warning, so I can grab a towel."

"You have." He looked her up and down with his mischievous eyes.

Kensi glared back at him, not amused at all. "My team have more respect for me than this. Get out."

He shrugged and exited the room, leaving Kensi to relax against the tiled wall and sigh heavily. This was not starting out well at all. She was well aware of what she needed to do to make their marriage look real, but in the privacy of their apartment, boundaries needed to be set.

He was drinking a scotch when she came out of the bedroom, dressed for dinner. Her black dress was pinched at the shoulders, allowing the drape of the satin fabric to fall over her curves.

Major Steve Hudson looked up and admired her. "You look.."

"Don't." Kensi walked over to the bar and poured herself a glass of the same. She turned and looked back at him and noticed the tux he wore. "Where are we going tonight?" She was surprised to be thrown into the mix of the action, so soon after her arrival into the Czech capital.

"Dinner then we'll move into the circles that we need to be seen in, before your performance is required."

Kensi nodded, he'd provided the file for her to read on the plane and she knew exactly why she was there. That plan would come into fruition in a week's time, but for now, she had to be seen with Steve, as Susan Sommerwill.

**Harrison Clark Law Firm, Los Angeles**

As Marty Deeks entered the law firm, it brought back memories of his day as a lawyer. Dressed in a suit and tie, he suddenly remembered all the reasons why he gave this career up. He'd chosen to be a defence lawyer because of one man. Simon Deeks had influenced him and came to his rescue when he was eleven years of age. He'd rescued him from the charges laid out against him, for shooting his father. Simon was so taken with the young Martin, that he asked if he could take the boy home and after six month, he and his wife, Claire, adopted him. They'd inspired Martin, who followed in his adopted father's footsteps through law school. So much of his life changed thanks to the Deeks. Until that night when he couldn't protect either of them, when they'd entered the gas station and a crazed gunman ended their lives. He'd walked away from being a lawyer the following day and decided to become a cop. He needed to protect the innocent, not help criminals get off prison sentences.

His partner for this case, FBI agent, Michael Russo, led him into his office. They'd gone over their part in this operation the day before in the Boat Shed, so there was no need to talk about it right now. Russo, who was now Peter Sullivan, showed him around the office and made the necessary introductions. He left the lawyers who were their targets out of the introductions, forcing them to make the first contact.

It was almost five in the afternoon, before one of their suspects entered the office. Lance Young was tall and of a slim build, an athlete in his younger days. He stood slightly over Deeks and had a relaxed composure as he stood in the doorway with his hands in his trouser pockets. His tie had been removed for the day, his dark hair still neat in position and his green eyes studied the new lawyer to the firm.

"I thought I heard we had a new lawyer in our ranks." He studied Deeks before walking over and shook his hands. "Lance Young. Leo Clark is my uncle."

"Jason Hill." Deeks scanned his eyes over his first suspect for the operation. He was very relaxed and carried an air of confidence of someone who had nothing to hide. _We'll see about that,_ Deeks mused.

"Welcome to the firm." Lance looked over to Deeks' partner, Russo. "You should invite Jason to the party tonight, Pete." A smile spread across Lance's face. "Lots of beautiful women and cars to admire and poker for the betting man. Hope you're not attached, Jason, it would be such a shame to not enjoy yourself tonight."

Deeks shook his head. "No. Looking forward to it."

"Good. See you at eight. Pete knows the address."

Deeks looked over to Michael Russo, with a raised brow. "You never mentioned about a party. Happen often?"

"Only when they're celebrating." Russo didn't need to say another word. Last night's raid on Pendleton had been a huge success for the firm's international client and they were putting on a party to celebrate with those who had been involved.

Deeks narrowed his eyes as he thought back to the video that Eric had shown them in ops. So many marines were killed or injured and these guys were celebrating? He reined in his emotions, trying hard to keep what he knew to himself. He needed to sweet talk this Lance guy into some kind of comradeship, so he would be in with their targeted group for his role in this operation.

**The Callens house, Los Angeles**

The day dragged on for Savannah, being alone with the twins gave her time to think and now was not a good time to dwell on where Callen was or if he was safe. The ring of the door bell caught her attention as she held Nathan in her arms. She walked to the door and looked through the side window, pleased to see a familiar face. "Admiral, please come in."

"Savannah. I hope I've not come at a bad time." He stepped over the threshold and looked at his grandson, who looked just like his own sons at that age.

"You're on your own?" Savannah looked behind him, expecting either Franklin or Bradford to be with him.

"Yes. They've had to return back to work in Virginia. I'd hoped that George would have given me the time before now. Is he around?"

He noted the sadness in Savannah's eyes. "Is everything okay?"

Savannah handed Nathan over to him and busied herself in the kitchen. "Coffee?"

"Have you any herbal teas? After my stroke, I've been trying to watch how much caffeine I intake."

Savannah nodded. "I have green, chamomile, lemongrass, cranberry and pomegranate, mint, ginger and rose-hip."

"Ginger would be good, thanks." He sat down at the bar, looking down at Nathan's matching cerulean eyes.

"Hello there, son. Who can you see?" Memories of Amelia and George when they were newborns travelled through his synapses and he smiled at the newest addition to the family.

"That's right, your Papa. Do you know where your daddy is?"

A cry from Samuel rang over the baby monitor.

"You're timing is perfect, Admiral."

"Baxter, please, Savannah. We are family now."

She nodded and placed his tea in front of him, then climbed the stairs to sort Samuel out.

Baxter could hear her singing softly to him and his heart warmed for the woman whom he'd worried about for some time now. She had a inner strength that he'd seen in her the first time they'd met, but seeing her crumble at the news of Mark's death had haunted him for a good time since. She'd bounced back and fell in love with his older son. It was ironic, he thought, of all the men she'd fall for, it was his George. His son whom he'd thought he'd lost, long ago.

"George has gone out of town for work." Savannah entered the downstairs living area, holding Samuel in her arms.

"I didn't think he was returning to work until next week?"

"He wasn't suppose to, but something urgent came up. He left last night. I have no idea where or how long for."

Baxter watched the worry in her eyes return and his own worry for his son began to fester. "Undercover?"

"I think quite deep. He didn't call Nell until this morning. So I'll say he's somewhere in Europe."

"So soon after the twins being born? I thought he was based here now, moved away from overseas ops?"

"He has, except for the exception. Like when we flew to Constanta to rescue Robert, Luca and Jacob."

Baxter shook his head and began pacing the room. He didn't like it one bit. So he worried. "He's so much like his mother. Clara was always so focused on her work. Always placing others before herself."

"Amy's the same."

Baxter narrowed his eyes. "Amelia is also an agent?" This was news to him, he had no idea.

"Dad had all three of us trained at FLETC. He needed to know that we were all safe, just in case. With his line of work, we were all at risk. I never understood the reason why he was so pigheaded on the issue."

"You never wanted it, did you?"

Savannah shook her head. "No. I only ever wanted to be an Interior Designer. I'm more of a creative soul, than a hero."

"But?" There was always a but. He could see it in her facial expression, as she slightly knitted her brows from something that haunted her.

"Amy saved my life, when I was eighteen. She had to make the toughest decision of her life that day. Save me or my mother. She chose me." She shuddered from the memory. "I could never make up for what she did for me that day…"

"So you flew to Romania to rescue her family."

"Yes." Savannah looked over to him, she tried to fight back the tears, her vision blurred.

"It was the least that I could do for her. She was my saving grace."

Baxter moved closer to her, he placed his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "What happened?"

Savannah shook her head, it was a hard thing to admit to anyone, but Baxter was family, and it was his daughter who had saved her that day. It was important that he knew just how much Amy meant to her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**The Callens' house, Los Angeles**

Savannah sat down on the couch, she gave Samuel a kiss and held him on her shoulder, gently rubbing his back.

Baxter joined her, prepared to listen.

"My dad was overseas for work again. I didn't know this at the time, but every time he went away, he entrusted me and Nell to Amy. He told her that she had to keep us safe. She'd completed her training and had already worked on a few operations for the CIA, not that I knew anything about it. I was too focused on my designing and senior year at High School." Savannah wiped her tears and took in a ragged breath. She bit on her bottom lip until she had the courage to continue.

"Nell and I were home alone and a man, someone who had worked with our father, broke into the house. We had no idea what had happened. Dad never told anyone about us, but he'd stalked him and found out that he had a family. Something had happened, that turned him into the monster that he'd become. He lost his job and he wanted out right revenge on my father. Nell hid, being so small, she was good at that. But he didn't appear to care about Nell anyway. He was focused on me."

Samuel made a gurgling sound, slightly cheering her up from the memories that haunted her. She gave him a kiss on his chubby cheek and savoured his scent.

"Mom and Amy returned home from the shops and Amy found me upstairs, tied to the bed. She fought him, knocking him out, just enough to get me free, find Nell and escape. We made it downstairs, but before we could warn mom, he'd returned to consciousness and held our mom at knife point. He threatened to kill her if Amy didn't hand me over to him." Her voice was scarcely a whisper. "Mom told Amy to get us out of there…we heard her scream, the last sound she ever made, as we ran down the street for help."

"Why was he fixated on you?" Baxter furrowed his brow, worried over what they'd suffered.

She let the tears fall, perhaps Nate was right, talking about it was better than bottling it up. She'd tried to talk about this for a long time, but she never could do it. For some strange reason, she found it easy to talk with Baxter.

"I did't know why back then. It haunted Amy that she couldn't save our mom, and I carried the guilt for years. That I had killed my mother and had placed Amy into that position. But she never let it get between us. If anything, it strengthened our bond. We were it, us against the world."

"What about your father and Nell?" Baxter was blown away by the harshness of reality that had hit both of his children.

"I refused to talk to my father again after that. When I found out who that man was, who had killed our mother, I blamed him. He forced me to go to FLETC for training and I thought that perhaps he was right, after what happened to our mom. That's when I met Mark. I had these huge walls built up around me, but he knew how to pull them down."

"Mark was an extraordinary man, Savannah. He was one of the best I've had the pleasure of commanding. He's greatly missed at Little Creek."

Savannah nodded and gave him a weak smile. Although she was happy with Callen, she still missed him.

"The only time I spoke with dad, was when he forced me to work a case. Get in close with some suspects, as my clients. Thankfully, I had other clients that weren't terrorists or drug lords, so I managed to not ruin my reputation or get burned."

"And Nell? What happened with her?"

"She was adopted by our mother's cousin and her husband. The Jones'. She'd only been eleven at the time, she needed the stability, whereas Amy and I were adults. So we made our own paths."

"I'm so sorry, Savannah. You've had it tough at a young age. I had no idea about your mother or what happened to you."

"Thank you, Baxter. I appreciate it. In fact, for some reason, I find talking to you about this easier than I've had with anyone. Even George."

"Does he know about any of this?"

She nodded. "Yes. The man who killed my mother escaped. He returned only last year and kidnapped me from the hospital." Goose bumps spread across her skin and she shivered.

"Dad found me, he placed a microchip inside my right ankle when I was four. I'd forgotten about it, until I was showing Luca and Jacob how to use the scanner. We needed to make sure that they weren't bugged, when we rescued them. George, Nell and their team came in as back up and he was arrested. That's when we realised who Amy was and why he wanted me."

Baxter furrowed his brow, surprised by this news.

"I knew that she wasn't my real sister, our parents weren't old enough to be her parents, and her blonde hair and blue eyes didn't match with anyone in the family. So did this man, he'd worked out that I was close to my father, before he'd killed our mom. He knew that Amy wasn't his real daughter and that Nell always had her head in her books. He chose me, to hurt my father the most." She took in a ragged breath, trying to rein in the emotions that washed over her, not only for her own sake, but for Samuel, as she continued to rub his back. "Anyway, Amy came with Nate to where we were after I had been rescued and she was rambling on about how she'd lost her baby brother and that she could not lose her sisters too. She said enough to make us realise who she was and we all looked at her, shocked. That's when George came out with my father from interviewing my abductor. The tension was high and it was then that I found out that my father had placed her in charge to protect us when he was away for work."

"I had no idea about any of this. I did wonder how Amelia and George had found each other. Through you."

"Yes. Ironic really. We move here and I meet him my first morning out on the beach. We didn't talk for about two weeks, but I sensed he was watching me. I struggled to sleep after loosing Mark. It was six months after, when we moved here. I would drive down to Santa Monica Beach and tried to wash the pain away. He was there every morning. Mostly before me. He kept his distance, but I felt him watching me." She gave a quick laugh. "It annoyed me at first, that he could break down my walls and see my pain. Then he became a comfort, knowing that he would be there each morning. I couldn't explain it. Then one day he walked over and asked if I was okay. I was rude to him, I told him to stop following me. I drove home like a mad woman, so he couldn't follow me." Savannah took in a deep breath to continue. "Then I found him sitting in his car asleep before I arrived the next morning. I had no idea who he was, his car was expensive, but I couldn't understand why he was sleeping in his car. My anger got the better of me, I banged on the window, demanding him to unlock the door. He had this look of surprise on his face, but he unlocked the door anyway. I dragged him out and pinned him against his car." She shook her head. "Sometimes I'm my own worst enemy. I was angry. Angry with my father, because I blamed him for Mark's death. Yet, I was just like him, I realised. I'd lost control and I was taking it out on George." Memories of that day, when her life with Callen changed forever forged their way forward in her mind. "Then my phone rang. My father was on the other end, he'd traced me with the microchip and logged into the car park security cameras. He told me to leave George alone. That's when I realised that he was a Fed, like me."

"Why did your father insert a microchip inside your ankle? You mentioned that you had it inserted when you were four?"

Savannah took in a deep breath and sighed. She'd been shocked to hear the reason from her father, not that long ago. It had made perfect sense to her father's behaviour over the years. "He was about to go away on an assignment, he had this look in his eyes, very serious and I just accepted it. I loved him and trusted him. It hurt, but I knew from the look he gave me that it was important. I'd forgotten about it, I couldn't understand why he'd done it, when I did remember." Her voice trailed off, Baxter wondered if she knew the reason behind her father's action. "It was the day of the plane flight back to America. He'd flown over with Amy, thinking we'd gone down with the plane, panicking. He was desperate to see me, once Nell told him that we were safe. He found George and I on the beach, he'd just proposed to me. George was worried about me, why I was so ill on the flight back…"

"You had morning sickness." Baxter looked at his grandson who had fallen back to sleep in his arms.

"Yes. But I didn't know, it had been over seven years since I'd been pregnant with Archie. Dr Mallard in D.C. was the one who'd realised and asked to allow their forensic scientist to analyse my blood to be certain. Once he confirmed it, I asked George if we could get away from the office. I needed to get my head around the news and to tell him." A smile made it's way across her lips. "What I didn't know, was that he was going to propose, the ring survived our jumping out of the plane." She looked at Baxter. "He's a good man. He just needs time to adjust, get used to knowing who you are."

Baxter nodded, she was right, but still, he needed to talk with his son. There was so much pain from all of those years ago for both of them. They needed to heal from it properly and talk. "Did your father ever explain why he inserted the microchip into your ankle?"

Savannah nodded. "Yes. George wasn't happy when he found out about the microchip. But dad had a good reason. I had an older brother, Phillip. I never knew, I was a baby when he was abducted and killed. He was only four years old. It explains a great deal about my father."

Baxter rubbed his hand over his face, he understood clearly the pain and worry a father had over his own children.

"I failed him. I tried so hard to find him and when I did…"

"What happened back then?" She'd figured out something had happened, from the look on Callen's face when his father had shown up and admitted that he had tried to adopt him when he was nine. She saw how he had lifted the barriers around that time in his life, he still refused to tell her.

Baxter gently traced his grandson's hairline with his fingertips. At that age they were innocent from the harshness of life. So sweet and trusting. A flash of anger crossed his face, Savannah's heart pounded in her chest from his reaction. "At first Gloria and I fostered him. We managed to get him to our house, but he was so withdrawn, he wouldn't look at me, and he'd flinch and move away from me as if I was about to hit him or something." Baxter swallowed down the hard lump in his throat. He felt it constrict, but the breathing exercises he practised helped control the panic that tried to ensue him.

"You wouldn't have recognised him, Savannah. He wasn't anything like the man he is today. Someone worked a miracle on my boy, that's all I can say." His thoughts went back to 1979. It should have been a good year, but instead the pain and guilt he suffered, made him turn himself into a workaholic.

"I tried, my goodness, Savannah, I tried. I gave him the space, Gloria was so good with him. He trusted her a little. I think she might have gotten through to him, but he was this scared boy, small for his age, he never said one word in the time he stayed with us. Only a few days. We did what we could, gave him some new clothes, only to find him bury his old clothes in the garden." Baxter stood up and gently placed Nathan in the basket by the couch. He paced the room, as his emotions got the better of him. He looked over to Savannah and what she saw, scared her. "I knew then that something horrible had happened to him. He never said, I never found out, but I tried to get help for him. Gloria's bother was at NIS, he took him to the hospital, for them to check, to get proof of what his previous foster father had done to him…but I couldn't wait any longer. After hearing him scream, I barged into the room…" Baxter shook his head, he dug his hands into his pockets, hiding the fisted hands. "I tried to help him, to get him out of there, I was so angry. I gave him the keys to my car, so he could have some space and for me to get control of my own anger. No one cared about him. They treated him like an animal."

Savannah stood and walked over to him. "It's not your fault, Baxter. You didn't do it to him." She saw the despair in his eyes.

"Yes, it is. I should have told him who I was. Then he wouldn't have stolen my car, and run away. He was broken, all because I wasn't there for him."

Savannah felt helpless as she watched Baxter cry into his hands. She walked over to the second basket and laid Samuel down. She hoped that both of her sons would sleep, so she could help Baxter deal with this.

"George won't talk about it. I know that he'd had it tough, living in thirty-seven foster homes…"

"He what? Thirty-seven?" The shock of the news hit Baxter with a full force.

"You never knew?"

"No." Baxter held onto the book shelf to steady himself. The camcorder laying on the top shelf caught his attention. There was a small piece of paper resting underneath it.

"What's this?" Savannah spotted it as soon as Baxter had seen it and she picked it up. She opened the folded piece of paper and a tear escaped her eyes.

_My dearest Sav, I will miss you and our children every moment that I am away. I have no idea how long I will be gone, and I worry that our boys will forget me. Please play what I have left on here every day, so they will remember who I am when I return. I love you, George. x_

Savannah looked at the camcorder, her breath hitched. He'd left a piece of himself for them. Quickly she connected it to the television and pressed play. Callen came up on the screen and Nathan laid in his arms. She could see the worry in his eyes, she knew that he didn't want to go. But he had no choice.

"Sav, my beautiful wife. I love you each and every moment while I am away. Tell Milly and Archie that I love them too, as if they were my own. I will make it up to them when I get back, play with them and teach them some magic tricks." The emotion of leaving had left a strain on his face. She watched him chew on his bottom lip, to prevent himself from breaking. How much she missed him. Right then, right now, she wanted to hold him tight. Another tear escaped as Baxter gently squeezed her shoulder.

"Don't stop singing, Sav. Your voice is so precious, our boys love to hear it. I've just witnessed Samuel watch you as you sang to him, while you changed his nappy. You are their guide in this life. You are the buttons that hold our family together. "

"Samuel and Nathan. My precious and beautiful sons. Daddy loves you very much." They watched Callen choke on a sob as he stumbled on. "I'll miss you ever minute of every day. Be good for mommy, I'll be home as soon as I can."

The recording went blank. She pressed the stop button, with blurred vision, she carefully disconnected it all and placed it back where he'd left it. She needed a moment, she walked outside into their garden and breathed in the scent of summer. Flowers were in full bloom, all the hard work that she'd put into making Callen's house a home paid off. But it was no good without him being there to share it. A gentle summer breeze swept over her and she wrapped her arms around her as if he was in the breeze, hugging her. "Come home, George. Please come home to us," she whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Long Beach, California**

The party had already started, when Marty Deeks showed up with Michael Russo. Beautiful women in dresses fit for the red carpet, were everywhere. Some were outside admiring the fast cars, others were inside, offering drinks to the guests. It was a man's world in here, Deeks realised. The women were ornaments for men to admire and to wait on them. Deeks missed Kensi, she would fit in fine in a place like this, dressed in a stunning dress that would compliment her natural beauty. But he couldn't think of her right now. He needed to work, focus on the men in the firm who were involved with this Russian Separatist group and the street racers. The party was a bold move, with all the letter agencies of the American Government, out to find those responsible for last night's raid on Pendleton.

"Jason. Meet Tom Chidley." Deeks hid his surprise and shook the man's hand.

"Welcome aboard, Jason." Tom smiled over to him, not showing any recognition of them ever meeting before.

Michael had never met Tom Chidley before this party, he had been a name without a face before now and he took in the features of this Tom guy, hoping that the camera button caught his features just as well.

"Thanks," Deeks looked around. "Nice place. Is this yours?"

Tom laughed and patted him on the back. "Yeah. You like?"

Deeks raised his brows. "Yeah."

"Work with us, Jason, and you too could be living it up in a place like this sooner than you think." Tom looked over to Lance. "I just might steal Jason for a bit. Take care of Pete."

"Sure." Lance and Russo watched them leave for the quieter quarters, up on the third floor.

Deeks was led into a private suite and Tom locked the door behind them. He placed his finger to his lips and led him through to the closet.

"Are you going to explain to me why you are here in Los Angeles as Tom Chidley?"

Franklin Worthington smiled and shrugged. "I've been working undercover for NCIS for some time. It appears I'm more like my older brother than I first realised."

"Does Bradford and your father know about this?"

"Dad knows about Bradford, but he has no knowledge that I joined them too."

"Your brother is working for NCIS too? I thought you both were based out of Little Creek as SEALs?"

"That's our cover. We are given assignments by Director Vance to get inside areas in Eastern Europe. But Brad isn't working on this operation. We look too alike."

"Oh, let's hope you don't go to Russia then. Things could get tricky."

"What do you mean?" Franklin thought about it for a moment. "George?"

"Yes. He's gone to get in close with the head of Moshchnyy Rossii." Deeks studied Franklin as he thought on the issue.

Franlkin narrowed his eyes. "This could complicate the situation. I wasn't told that he'd be involved. That any of your team would be brought into this op." Franlkin eyed the Detective for another moment. "You will have to go to Prague instead of me then. If they see me and George, they'll know we're related and it's bound to burn both of our covers and who knows who elses."

"Prague? I thought they were Russian?"

"They are, but there's a meeting in Prague in a week's time. I'm suppose to go and deal with them. I need to prep you for the op. Give me your cell."

Deeks pulled his burn phone he'd been given by Russo the day before and handed it over to him.

He pulled out a device and synced Deeks' phone with it. "Every call I receive, you can listen into and read every text I receive and make. I've just cloned my phone with yours."

Deeks took his cell back and slipped it into his inside jacket pocket.

"So this guy, Pete, he's in your team?"

"No. He's FBI. I was sent in to work with him because of my background as a lawyer."

"So you're really a lawyer then?"

"Yes. I've worked with some well known bad guys undercover for LAPD."

"Who?"

"Emilio Ortega and Radovan Lazik."

"Even better. I've heard of them both and you're still alive to tell the tale. I'm impressed. But not a word to Pete that we know each other or who I really am. We believe there's a leak within the agencies working this case and until we find out who they are, we must not let on we know each other. And if you see George or anyone else in your team, you can't let on to your fellow operatives for this case either."

Deeks studied Franklin's eyes and saw how serious he was about this and nodded.

Franklin slapped his hand on his back and led him back out into the main part of the suite. He walked over to the bar in the opposite corner and poured them both a drink. "To our future partnership, Jason."

Deeks clinked his glass of vodka to Franklin's and gulped the liquid down his throat. There was a message in the choice of liquor, get used to it and maintain cover.

A knock on the door brought Franklin into rambling on about some random topic, as he moved across the room to open the door.

"Lance, perfect timing. I have solved my problem. Jason will go to Prague with you next week. That way I can continue to keep our other clients happy and go to my meeting in Cuba."

"But he's expecting you. Not some new guy to the firm." Lance eyed Deeks carefully.

"I have talked with Jason, he's got the experience. He's dealt with Radovan Lazik and Emilio Ortega. He's perfect for the job."

"He's worked with Lazik and Ortega?" Lance looked over at Deeks with a new perspective and a respect Deeks didn't expect.

"Jason will do us good. Sacha Pajari will be pleased with the newest addition to our team out here." Franklin gave him the Worthington trademark smirk, one that Deeks knew all too well.

They rejoined the party and Lance led him outside to mingle with the street racers who had helped them in the previous night's raid. "Jason, meet Stefano. He's my main man with the drivers. If you need anything from Mexico, speak to him." Jason nodded over to Stefano, hiding his recognition from the photo displayed the day before in Ops. He was a former SEAL, now an NCIS agent. But how he'd managed to become the number one driver for this group, he had no idea. He looked over to Lance who's attention was elsewhere.

"You've got a new driver, Stefano?" Lance walked over to the African American man, he was bald, of a solid build and wore an attitude not to be messed with.

"Yeah. He's an old friend. We grew up together in Brooklyn. He's moved out west and we bumped into each other recently. Thought he'd be a good replacement after the loss of a few good drivers recently." They may have been partying to celebrate, but the truth that underlined the facade, was they'd lost three good drivers from bullet wounds.

"How does he drive?" Lance studied the new addition closely, not showing any concerns for his own safety.

"Why don't you ask him yourself, Lance? He can talk for himself." Stefano Torez chuckled and the undercover agent, Sam Hanna, shifted his shoulders to display how tough he really was.

"What's your name?"

"Jay."

"Well Jay, show us what you've got." Lance loved the thrill of a good street race, and now he wanted to see what this new guy could do. He was tough and solid, all muscle and Lance was sure he could do some serious damage to him if he wasn't careful. But for now, he was in control and he wanted to see how good of a driver this Jay guy was.

Sam released the woman in his hold. "You racing?" He asked Lance, who chuckled in response.

"Let's get one thing straight, Jay. I'm the boss around here. I tell you what you do and when. I don't do the racing, that's what I've hired Stefano for." Lance looked over to Stefano. "Give me a good show for my money, Stefano."

Stefano shrugged. "Sure thing, Boss." Stefano stepped inside his American muscle car, a red 1964 GTO. The paintwork was fairly recent, it shone from the lights around the property. It looked like a sweet ride for someone like Stefano, Deeks mused. He kept his focus on Stefano, not giving away that he knew Jay as Sam Hanna, nor his woman, otherwise known to himself as his wife, Michelle.

The engine roared, it had guts and somewhere deep inside of him, Deeks knew he really wanted to drive that machine. He could see how guys were drawn to beauties like these. Kensi would be peeved she'd missed this party for sure. Especially the race.

A blonde woman in a white dress that hugged every curve, with a long split up her well toned leg, held a yellow flag in her hand and stood in between the two vehicles. Deeks doubted the capacity of Sam's challenger in comparison to Stefano's GTO, although, he remembered, Hetty had arranged for the mechanics to make changes to the challenger for this operation. So really, anything was possible. The engines overpowered the pounding of the music and for the drivers, the party had just begun. The flag fell and the cars zoomed away at fast speed out of the property and along the surrounding streets. Both vehicles were monitored with GPS tracking and inbuilt cameras, which were brought up on the large screen for the crowds to watch and cheer. Deeks watched Sam catch up to Stefano and made his way over to Michelle. "Hey there sweet thing." He wrapped his arm around her, catching her off guard. Her eyes widened in surprise. "What's your name?"

"Get off me," she played along with Deeks' ruse.

"What's the problem here?" Lance walked over, curiosity got the better of him.

"Nothing, Lance. I was just admiring this sweet piece of woman here."

An evil grin spread across Lance's visage. "You like them like this?"

"I've had one or two in the past." Deeks knew Lance was referring to Michelle's colour and concluded Lance was a racist pig. He hid his anger, "but she's got fire and I do like them with when they've got fire." He bore his blues eyes into her brown ones, keeping his cover in place. Memories of his former lover, Jess, returned to the forefront of his mind. He'd managed to keep the pain from losing her when her car exploded, locked away, but this operation was quickly unravelling them.

"Jason asked you your name." Lance spoke harshly to Michelle.

Michelle glared back at him. "Nevaeh Kelly."

"Well Nevaeh, I think Jason here likes you. So, if your Jay loses, you become Jason's. If Jay wins, he gets to keep you, for now."

Michelle continued to glare at this Lance, she could feel the racism radiate from his body. But it wasn't just the fact he was racist, he was a chauvinist. Women were to be owned and he treated her like property.

The engines were getting louder and before long, Sam and Stefano fought each other for first place on their re-entry to Tom Chidley's property. Sam managed to get in front, just.

Lance applauded Sam when he stepped out of the challenger. "You are as good as Stefano. I think we'll take him on our trip next week. You'll like that, won't you, Jason." He chuckled, amused over Jason's interest in Jay's woman.

Sam flared his anger at Jason. "You get away from my woman. You touch her again, you'll never see the light of day again." It was a threat to those around them, but Deeks, Michelle and Sam were all relieved they had each other on their next leg of this operation.

"Where are we going?" Sam inquired of Lance.

"Prague." It was Deeks who answered, to keep their covers in tack, he chose to treat Jay the same way as Lance. Like he was boss. "And you don't threaten me. Ever." He flared his blue eyes back at Sam's. It was an interesting charade for the pair who had become good friends since the Sidorov case. Deeks had proven his loyalty to the team in keeping Michelle safe. The trust was there, no matter how much anger and alpha dominance they showed off towards each other.

"Tom was right about you, Jason. I think I'm going to enjoy this trip after all." Lance squeezed Deeks' shoulder to announce that they were moving on to another part of the property to celebrate.

Sam moved next to Michelle and kept her close. They watched Deeks move away and they were curious to how Deeks managed so quickly to get in close with this Lance guy. Movement from the top balcony caught Sam and Michelle's attention. They both looked up and hid their surprise. Franklin Worthington nodded down to them and walked back inside to mingle with his guests. Their question was answered. Callen's half brother, Franklin, had managed to get Deeks into the perfect position for the next leg of the operation, them included.

**The Callens' house**

Nell was working late again, so Savannah was getting lonely. Milly and Archie were staying the night at Amy and Robert's. She dialled her phone and waited, but no one pick up the other end. It was strange, Savannah thought, for Michelle to not pick up her phone. She was usually quick at picking up or returning the call. She tried her cell, still no answer.

Over the next few hours Savannah continued to call Michelle until Nell walked in the door, clearly exhausted. Savannah looked relieved to have some adult company. Baxter had left hours earlier and Samuel and Nathan were fast asleep. She should have been sleeping, but she was missing Callen and worried over him. She'd hoped by talking with Michelle, she could ease her worry.

"Are you okay, Sav?" Nell plonked herself in the sofa next to her.

"I can't get through to Michelle. I've tried all evening, she's not picking up either her home phone or cell."

"That's because she's with Sam," Nell revealed. "He needed her for his cover, that's all I can give you."

"He's not with Callen?"

Nell's eyes widened when she realised her mistake. She went to open her mouth to back track, but there was no way she could pull the wool over her sister's eyes. Not now that she'd slipped up.

"Don't, Nell. You of all people. I'd expected the truth from you at least. If you can't tell me what's going on, then I have no one on my side whom I can trust."

"You know I can't tell you anything, Sav. The less you know, the better it is for you. Trust me and trust Callen to stay safe. He's not alone, that much I can tell you."

"I still don't like it, Nell. I feel helpless. I should be out there having his back, wherever he is." She wiped the tear that escaped her eyes, she wanted to remain calm and be strong while Callen was away, but she couldn't.

"You are needed here, Sav. Your children need you. And you resigned from NCIS remember?"

"So I've been kept in the dark because I resigned? I feel like I've been punished for leaving."

Nell pulled her in for a hug. "No, Sav. To protect you and Callen, you know the rules."

"I know, but it still sucks from where I'm sitting."

"It sucks from where I'm sitting too," Nell admitted to her. "Everyone has got their role for this operation, Eric and I are left alone to do research and to keep a close watch on them. They're all so spread out, I wish we could have kept them all closer together. It would be so much easier and comforting knowing that they'll all there to have each other's back."

Savannah took in a deep breath and looked her sister straight in the eyes. "What are the chances of my husband returning home safe, Nell?"

Nell shook her head, she didn't want to answer her sister this particular question.

"Nell? Please!"

Nell placed her face in her hands before looking back up at her sister. "Together as a team, I would have said, one hundred percent sure."

"Apart?" Her breath hitched, the look in her sister's eyes scared her.

"It's uncertain. Callen is one of the best seasoned agents and he's got two agents undercover to have his back. He just doesn't know them."

"So he's basically been thrown in with people he doesn't trust." She knew her husband well by now, especially with his trust issues.

Nell nodded. "I'm sorry, Sav. Hetty's tried to keep Callen out of this, but it's come from up on high and with his perfect Russian…" Nell whipped her hand over her mouth, she'd slipped up again.

"Russian? Nell, please don't tell me he's gone to Russia?"

"I have no idea exactly where he's gone to. But his cover is a Russian who deals with weapons and women."

Savannah stood up, she needed some air. Her chest tightened and she knew a panic attack would come if she didn't rein her emotions in. She'd not suffered one since meeting Callen, he'd worked magic with her and had helped her deal with losing Mark more than she'd ever admit. But now, the uncertainty of if he would return home safe, took control.


	8. Chapter 8

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Moscow — two days later**

It had been a over ten years since Callen had been to the Russian capitol, Moscow. Each time he returned he noticed the changes with time, like everywhere else these days. It was like someone had fast forwarded time and cities that had stood for hundreds of years unchanged, were thrown into a race for change into the twenty-first century. But it wasn't just the buildings, the people had changed too. The friendliness that had existed ten years prior had gone. Everyone wanted more and more and they were driven to success. Moscow was a city driven by success and greed. For a country where eighty percent of its population continued to struggle and remained stuck in poverty, Moscow's population were dripping in wealth.

For this operation, Callen had to remain in character as Vladimir Dorosh and be one of those people. Partying all night, where business deals happened at the rear of clubs and weapons and women were traded. None of which settled well with him. He looked over at Jennifer Ashley, CIA operative who had as much experience under her belt as he had. He knew she could handle her part in this operation, but he still worried. He didn't have an abusive nature. He could play the part, but he didn't like it.

"You sure about this? It's not too late to pull the plug on you being involved in this."

"You think I can't handle myself?"

"I'm sure you can, but it's not going to be pretty." He wiped his hand over his face.

"Do you have what it takes to do your part for your country in this operation?" He studied her, she didn't break his gaze once. She was tough, he'd seen that instantly, the moment she walked into his hotel suite in London.

"England may be where I live these days, Callen, but America has always been my home. I will do what it takes to protect my home." He noted the annoyance in her voice, at his doubt of her ability to proceed in the operation.

Callen nodded. "Good. Now, I need you to trust me. Vladimir isn't Mr Nice guy. When I'm in character, there is no room for who I am to sneak out to be nice to you. Vladimir owns you, he will be rough and hurt you. I need to know that you can handle who I have to be."

"I trust you. I've read your file, well, what's not been redacted. The fact that you're asking me these questions proves to me that you are nothing like your alias. I can be the scared woman, who needs you to need me and I will accept whatever Vladimir puts me through. As long as at the end of the day and we're behind closed doors, you return to being Callen again."

"We'll be closely watched, there will be times when we can't be ourselves."

"I'm aware of that. Now do what you have to for our covers."

He hesitated, flexing his fists at his side. Memories of his youth flashed before him. The abuse and the numbness, so he'd never feel the pain he'd suffered when he was nine years old ever again.

"You sure you don't want to put the bruises on your neck and arms yourself?"

"Perhaps it should be me asking you if you're up to your part in this operation?" She narrowed her eyes as she saw him change before her. Whatever he used to bring this darkness over him, it worked and she shuddered.

He grabbed her by the neck and forced her against the wall. He hadn't shaved in a week, his thick bristles grazed across her soft cheek. She braced herself as she felt her windpipes constrict. Fear entered her eyes for a brief moment, before he released her. Callen stepped back, he was no longer the man she'd gotten to know over the past few days. He truly was in character and Vladimir Dorosh stood before her.

The pressure on her neck from his hands remained and she gently pressed against the marks on her neck as she looked in the mirror. Bruises formed and his mark was left for anyone to see. She flinched, as pain on her upper arm caught her by surprise. Another set of bruises would match the ones on her neck before long.

He held her tight and swung her around. "You need to get dressed, we are expected at Sacha Pajari's house for dinner in an hour."

Jennifer Ashley nodded and left him. She needed to focus and become Vladimir's property, Layla Robinson. Her English accent would do her well in this operation as the poor Layla whom Vladimir rescued from poverty in London. He'd given her a roof over her head and all the clothes and jewellery she desired, as long as she did what he wanted.

**Sacha Pajari's house**

Callen pulled up in the sports car he'd been given for his alias, Vladimir. The passenger door was opened by a guard, who waited for him to help his woman out of the vehicle. With her hand draped over his arm, dressed for success, they ascended the stairs to the grand front door of the Moscow mansion. They were greeted by another guard who led them inside the two hundred year old villa, with a fifteen foot high fence that surrounded the property.

"Vladimir Dorosh. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Ivan has been telling me so much about you, I was beginning to wonder if you were a ghost." Sacha Pajari greeted him with a strong hand shake, his eyes moved to Jennifer's, engraving her image into his memory.

Callen chuckled, slightly amused. "I prefer to be a ghost. It keeps me under the authorities' radar." Callen was curious to how long Ethan Wiles had been talking about his alias to Sacha.

"Your woman, she is beautiful. May I?"

Callen nodded and watched Sacha closely as he lifted Jennifer's hand to his lips.

"What is your name?"

Callen could see desire in Sacha's eyes, he knew then why Jennifer had been chosen. Not just because she was an experienced operative, but for her beauty and that she was Sacha's type.

"Layla Robinson."

"English. Well, Vladimir, you've done well indeed." Sacha smiled over to them, pleased with his guests. "Let's talk business. Layla can stay here with the other women I have invited for tonight."

Callen looked over to the group of women who sat like dolls on the 19th Century Gold Leaved Russian Swan Couch. They perched themselves on the edge, waiting to be called. Jennifer sat down in a Gilded Louis XV style French Bergere Armchair, her eyes met Callen's. She'd prepared herself for this operation for the past few weeks, but being there now, could she really play the part of a woman who would put up with being treated like an animal by the men?

Callen followed Sacha through carved double doors into what one would classify as a man's domain. Dark wooden panelling covered the walls, with soft lighting from lamps spread around the room.

"Cigar?"

Callen shook his head. "I'm more of a vodka man."

Sacha smiled and clicked his fingers. A brunette dressed in a red dress, pin-tucked underneath the curves of her breasts which draped over her thin frame, walked over. She had similar features to Jennifer, and at a close glance, Callen could see faded bruises on her neck and upper arm.

Callen accepted the vodka and swallowed, placed his glass out for more. The unnamed woman took it immediately and refilled his glass. After he'd swallowed the second glass, Callen turned his focus on Sacha.

"I see that we are very alike, Vladimir. We like our women to know who's boss." He smiled broadly over to Callen, thinking he'd found a comrade in him.

"A man cannot show any weakness around a woman. Incase she gets any ideas in her head that she can do what she pleases."

Sacha chuckled. "A man after my own heart."

Callen returned a smirk, trying to block out the voice inside his head to kill Sacha with his bare hands there and then.

"We have a very important meeting next week in Prague. We will meet with some friends from Los Angeles, Americans who have been helping our cause to strengthen Mother Russia back to her former glory. There will be lots of women to admire and if you see any that you desire for your own, all you need to do is make an offer."

"But tonight, let's focus making a deal for our trade."

Voices from outside the room caught Sacha's attention and he excused himself. Before he made it to the door, it opened wide and the white haired man lunged for Sacha.

"Where is my Anna? You stole her from me, you thief."

Sacha pushed the older man off him and wiped his hands down his suit jacket. "Is that a way to greet an old friend, Arkady? I have guests."

Arkaday Kolcheck looked over and spotted Callen instantly. "What are you doing here?" Arkady pointed to Callen. He turned to Sacha. "You've betrayed me with him? You think I have bad manners, he walks into my house holding my men as prisoners, with a gun to their temple."

Sacha looked over to Callen, amused by the story. "You know Vladimir, Arkady? Well if I had known that the two of you were old friends, I would have invited you too."

"Oh we've never been friends," Callen told him with a straight face.

Sacha laughed, "I suppose not, turning up to his house like you do." He rubbed his hands together. "Come and join us, Arkady."

"I want Anna. That is all I want and then I'll be gone."

Callen raised a brow, in all the years he'd known Arkady and shown up unannounced at his house or used his pool, he'd never heard of him talk about any Anna's.

"She's not here." Sacha lit his cigar and held the box out to Arkady, who remained in his standing position and shook his head.

"Where is she?" There was something about the way Arkady was desperate to get this Anna back that peaked Callen's curiosity.

"Prague."

Arkady fisted his hand, ready to smack it into the side of Sacha's face.

"She must be of some great value to you, Arkady." Callen stood up and walked over to his old friend. "Do you have a photo of her?"

Sacha watched the interaction between Arkady and Vladimir with interest. "You've never met Anna?"

"No. I've never even heard Arkady mention her name. She your new woman?"

Sacha rolled out laughing. "You really have no idea, do you?"

Callen narrowed his brow as he studied Arkady. "Who is she?"

Callen took Arkady's cell from him and looked at the photo of a pretty blonde sitting on a bench seat. "She is pretty. A bit young for you, isn't she?"

Arkady's face fell, confusion washed over Callen's face.

"She is Arkady's daughter, Vladimir. If you like her, make an offer next week, she'll be up for grabs."

Arkady pushed past Callen to strangle Sacha, Callen pulled him back. "I think I might just do that."

Arkady furrowed his brow, "do what?"

"Make an offer on Anna. She would look good alongside Layla."

"You wouldn't…"

Sacha laughed, "he really doesn't like you, Vladimir. I think our trip to Prague is going to be more entertaining than business after all." He poured himself another glass and missed the look between Arkady and Callen.

They were indeed old friends, for whatever reasons this unusual friendship came in to being and Arkady was thankful for Callen being there, under the guise of Vladimir Dorosh.

Callen smirked. "I agree, Sacha. Prague should be very entertaining indeed."

The unnamed woman walked over with another shot of vodka and Callen swallowed it down, thinking as he felt it wash down his throat. He had another objective for his visit to Prague next week. Rescue Anna Kolchek from the grasps of Sacha Pajari.


	9. Chapter 9

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Prague**

Sacha Pajari had looked at her too close for comfort, like he had undressed her with just his eyes. Memories of their visit to his Moscow villa haunted her at night. Jennifer Ashley was wide awake sitting on the window seat, looking out at the city of Prague. It was beautiful and old, and if the buildings could talk, they could reveal many secrets.

"Are you okay?" She'd become awfully quiet, and this change in her behaviour concerned Callen. He sat beside her and watched her. If she wasn't up to continuing, it was up to him to make the decision to pull her from the operation.

She turned and faced him, the moonlight shone across his face. "How do you do it? Be a man like Vladimir, when you are nothing like him?"

Callen looked out over the city for a moment as he contemplated her question. "It's not easy. I have to push who I am into the back corner of my brain and pull out the kind of guy I've got to become for the operation."

"But how do you change like that? Where do you learn to be, really be someone you detest?"

He heaved out a sigh. This was something Sam had asked him many times, how he could push his personal feelings to the back of his mind and not appear to be affected by what was going on around him. But the truth was, it did and he fought a battle within him to keep his emotions locked away until he could be alone. That's when he unravelled and dealt with his raw emotions.

"I suppose it's from growing up with no family. Being moved about so much, I've found playing other people easy. Tried out a lot of variables along the way to see who I really am."

"So it's true then, you have no idea what your name is?"

He knew he had to keep his personal stuff close to the chest. Keep his family a secret, he couldn't risk placing them in danger by slipping up and telling anyone about them. Only the team, his team knew about who he really was. So he did what he had to do. He lied.

"No. I've played around with names over the years, Greg, Gavin, Geoff, Graham, George. But none seem to fit."

"Ever tried a Russian name?" Callen tilted his head, slightly taken back by her comment.

"Why Russian?"

"I've watched you, you appear very relaxed as a Russian, like you were meant to be."

He chuckled. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not. But let's just say, I've had plenty of experience with the language and operations in Russia over the years."

"Well if I hadn't known that you were American, I would believe that you really were Vladimir Dorosh."

"Then I'm doing my job right. Thanks." He gave her a smirk, but he noticed something was still bothering her.

"You sure you're okay?"

She shrugged. "Not sure. Sacha, the way he looked at me, he gives me the creeps."

"I'll keep you close, he won't hurt you. Not on my watch."

"But what if you can't? You have a job to do tomorrow night, to buy a girl, to keep your cover intact."

Callen knew exactly which woman he'd buy too. He'd memorised Anna in his brain and he was determined to buy her. Arkady had sent him money into his alias' bank account to make the trade.

"Ethan will be there. He'll have your back if I can't." He didn't trust Ethan, but he had no other option, since he'd been separated from his team. For a moment his thoughts went to Sam, Kensi and Deeks and he hoped that they were all safe.

**Chateau Mcely — the following night**

Callen pulled up in front of the Chateau, the expanse grounds surrounding the 17th Century building reminded him of England. For a moment he forgot where he was. As he stepped out of the Porsche, he assisted Jennifer up the steps to the entrance. He showed them their invitation and they were led through to the rear of the hotel. They scanned the area, Sacha had taken over the whole hotel for his meeting, which he'd filled with the most beautiful women Russia and Czechoslovakia had to offer. They were dressed in ball gowns, no expense was spared. He felt Jennifer's grip tighten on his arm and he gently squeezed her hand for reassurance. She could so easily get lost in a place like this and he hoped he found Ethan sooner rather than later. After all, he had a job to do. Knowing how little Sacha valued women, any confidence Jennifer had before went out the window.

Ethan Wiles stood to the side, puffing on a cigar. Sacha and he had chatted on route to the hotel and now he watched his fellow operatives sweep the hotel with their eyes. He needed to be careful, so far he'd managed to stay under the radar from being caught as a double agent. He'd tried to get what he could on Agent G. Callen, but the man was very much a mystery. Every operation he'd worked on was blacked out, and there appeared to be no record of family or friends. The man was a ghost and although he'd tried to get the man's files unsealed for this operation, he had failed. Sacha was losing patience, he wanted to know more about Callen. Jennifer was a distraction and from what he could see, she was working. He saw the concern for her in Callen's eyes and Ethan knew that he'd worry about her if anything happened to her. She would become a weak spot and his undoing. He smiled at how well his plan was going. Every man had a weak spot. For G. Callen, it had to be a beautiful woman. Jennifer Ashley was the perfect choice, it was unfortunate that he had to use her in this operation to bring Callen down. He was still unclear why Sacha was so interested in Callen. But as long as Sacha continued to pay him well, he'd do what it took to please the Russian.

"Ivan, where have you been hiding?" Callen walked up beside him and looked over the crowd of people from his vantage point. Callen and Jennifer hadn't seen Ethan Wiles since they'd left London and Callen's suspicions on the CIA operative were growing stronger by the minute.

"I've had work to do. Sacha likes you. I think he has his eye on your woman."

"I think he only likes me because of my woman." Callen studied Wiles, the man was hiding something. Arkady had sent him a message, warning him that there was a leak in the operation and to trust no one. He was surprised by the message, since when was Arkady working for the U.S. Government? But he knew the history Arkady had with his father, when he was undercover as Nikita Reznikov. Perhaps news from Hetty had come through for him to watch his back.

"Have you the money ready for trading?"

"I have." Callen stared his cerulean orbs into Wiles own blue ones, trying to figure out the man's motives.

"Good. Let's begin." He led Callen into a back room, where a few other men stood around, waiting.

Callen scanned the room and he hid his surprise when he saw Deeks and Sam in the background. He was pleased to see them and glad that Sam had Deeks with him at least. This gave him hope that he could pass Anna across to them to get her out and hold onto Jennifer. A shot of vodka was handed to him and he swallowed, his eyes on a side door, where a woman entered. She had a number pinned to her dress and she walked around the room, her eyes not meeting any of the men. She was subservient and up for sale. Callen's gut clenched tight, suddenly the urge to rescue every women who entered this room pulled at him. But he didn't.

A man to his right raised a paddle. "15,000 Euros." Callen quickly did the calculations, US$16,720.00. That was a lot of money for the woman and he wondered what was expected of her once she was sold. Men bid on her and the final offer was accepted. This continued for the next half hour but still no Anna. His eyes narrowed slightly when a man entered and dragged his wife into the room.

Sacha watched on amused, "you don't want her anymore? Come and join us."

"You can't do this to me. I am your wife." The woman turned and Kensi looked at Callen, surprised to see him, but thankful just the same. She looked around the room at the men who watched her, the lust in their eyes made her skin crawl. Then she spotted Deeks and she quickly darted her eyes away from him. She couldn't let on that she knew him, Sam or Callen. Her so called husband, DOD Major Steve Hudson, had hurt her when he dragged her through to the back room. She was unprepared for her to be the main attention of trade. Anger surged through her and she fisted her hand and collided it with her so called husband's jaw. She heard laughter and a paddle erected, "20,000 Euros. I like them feisty." She recognised the voice, Deeks was bidding for her. She was surprised to see him and Sam there, they were supposed to be in Los Angeles. Another man's voice echoed through the room and she was being fought over. Her breath hitched as she waited and prayed Deeks won his bidding.

"Congratulations, Jason." A unknown man to Kensi patted him on the back. Lance Young was amused at how much Jason wanted the unwanted and feisty wife.

Deeks smirked and walked over to her. He jolted her head back, pulling on her hair. He studied her and Kensi knew he was tapping into his alias of Max Gentry for this role. "You better be worth my money. He'd spent 40,000 Euros on her in the end. But at least he kept her safe from someone else taking her and placing her in danger. He took her out of the room and led her upstairs to his room. Once he had her safely behind closed doors, he scanned the room for bugs. Satisfied they were safe, he studied her more closely.

"Why did your partner drag you in like that?"

"I have no idea. He's been a bastard since we were teamed up. Walks in on me while I'm having a shower, looks at me like I'm his." She shuddered.

Deeks slipped his jacket from off him and draped it over her shoulders. "You think he's working for Sacha Pajari?"

"Yes. I've tried to find who he's been partnered up with before me, Nell said another three female agents were paired up with him and they've all vanished."

Deeks fisted his hands, as anger raged within him. "You're safe with me. We'll take you back home."

"How did you and Sam link up?"

"I was sent to the local law firm, Harrison Clark, who've been working with Pajari and the street racers. I was invited to a party, my partner had no idea I would be sent over here with Lance Young, one of our suspects. I have Franklin Worthington to thank for that."

"Callen's brother?"

"Yeah. He's been undercover with NCIS for a few years on this operation. He stressed not to let on who we know to anyone, there's a leak within the agencies on this operation. Until they're found, we need to tread very carefully."

"Is he here?"

"No. I told him Callen was sent to Russia to get in close with Sacha. Both of them will be burned if he showed up, so he sent me with Lance instead."

"I've missed you," she stroked her hand over his beard.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you." He heaved out a heavy breath. "So this guy who sold you, do you want me to injure him for you?"

"It's good to see chivalry isn't dead. But I'm good. I want to do that myself. If I get the chance."

Deeks smirked, "that's my Fern." He captured her lips with his, taking in her taste and scent. A groan escaped his throat. His hands roamed her body, "we can do this, you know. For once, we can do this on the job."

Kensi came up for a breather and looked deep into his eyes. She saw his pupils dilate and she knew he wanted her right then. "I know." She nodded and he picked her up and carried her over to the bed. He was home, he had his Fern with him once again and she was safe.

**Downstairs**

The bidding continued, Callen began to worry he'd yet to see Anna. But then he spotted her. The last bid of the night. Sacha looked over and saw the desire in Callen's eyes for Arkady's daughter. He had to chuckle to himself, the game he and Wiles were playing with Callen. He would get his revenge on both Arkady and Nikita Reznikov for what they did to his father. He and Wiles would destroy Callen and Anna, and the other woman, Layla, whom he knew to really be Jennifer Ashley, would be his.

It was a win win situation and he was becoming more powerful and rich at the same time. The weapons had arrived the night before and they sat in a warehouse in downtown Prague. He'd congratulated Lance and Torez for their success in the raid on Pendleton. He had the U.S. Government worried, but their agents all worked for him.

Now he had a new problem, what to do with Callen and his fellow team mates. His contacts had come through, good as gold. He looked around and spotted the former Navy SEAL, Sam Hanna, who he knew to be Callen's partner for NCIS. The woman, Kensi Blye had been sold and he was glad that Lance's new guy had bought her. He would leave her to him to deal with. Although Jason was a new business associate, Lance assured him that Tom had vouched for him. He had a record that was dirty and had history with Ortega and Lazik, which pleased him. They had three federal agents to get rid of, as well as women to trade and weapons to sell. They'd become the biggest new organisation in Europe before the year was out.

Callen's paddle raised, "20,000 Euros." The blonde woman glared at him, she was no subservient woman, she was feisty and Callen was intrigued. He hoped he could get her out safe, Arkady was waiting in the woods down the road for him to take Anna out of there safely. Then he could focus on keeping Jennifer safe from Sacha's grasps.

The bidding for Anna increased and after ten minutes, she was Callen's for the sum of 50,000 Euros. He was glad it was Arkady's money and not from his budget for this operation. He hoped they could take Sacha down sooner rather than later and get the money back for Arkady. The main focus for that moment was that Anna was on her way to being safe.


	10. Chapter 10

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Chateau Mcely**

Anna wrestled Callen all the way to the room he'd been given. He shoved her against the wall beside the door and fought her hard. "It's okay. You're safe. I'm here to take you back to your father."

"I don't have a father."

"Arkady Kolcheck, he paid the money for you."

She narrowed her eyes, studying him. She could see the sincerity in his eyes. "Take me to him."

"I can't, but I can get my partner to."

A knock caught their attention. Callen looked through the peephole and saw his partner on the other side. He quickly unlocked the door and let him inside.

"What's the deal?" Sam had been curious to why this particular woman had held his partner's interest so much. 50,000 Euros had been the most spent on any of the women there that night.

"I need you to take Anna to Arkady. She's his daughter."

Sam raised his brow and studied the blonde. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Don't worry, I don't like him either."

Callen and Sam looked at Anna, surprised. Here was Arkady's daughter, whom they knew nothing about and she was feisty and telling them straight out how much she didn't like her father.

"You don't like your father?" Memories of his own father flashed through the forefront of his mind. Perhaps he'd been too harsh with his father and he should have given him the time to talk to him. But those days when he was nine were dark and he never wanted to return to that moment in his life, for anyone.

"He's not my father, just someone who got my mother pregnant."

Callen raised his brow over to Sam, Anna had daddy issues. "Well it looks like I'll be taking you to him whether you like it or not."

Anna shook her head. "No. I need to stay in."

"What do you mean stay in?" Callen furrowed his brow, "who are you?"

"I'm a Chicago Detective. I've been undercover trying to find where a number of missing women have gone to. I allowed Sacha to trade me in hope I could find these women."

"I think the men in the room tonight are our best bet. But we've got bigger problems. Pendleton was invaded over a week ago and lots of U.S. military weapons were stolen."

Sam looked to his partner. "You stay here and I'll get Anna out. I'll meet you back here in an hour. We've got to get out before anyone notices that I've left with your new woman."

Callen nodded, he knew Sam was right.

"I'm staying."

"No you're not." Both Callen and Sam answered in unison.

"How long have you two been a couple?" She stood with her hands on her hips, showing off her toned physique under her thin layered chiffon dress.

"Ha, very funny. You're still going."

"Make me." She flared her eyes back at him in defiance.

Callen looked to Sam and sighed. Here he went again. He'd hoped she'd see to reason and he could have done this the civilised way.

He fisted his hand and punched her out, Sam picked her up and carried her out, unconscious. Callen needed to find Jennifer before it was too late.

Meanwhile Deeks and Kensi laid up inside his room and they were interrupted by Lance who'd barged in. He smirked when he saw them lying naked under the sheets. At least one of them was getting something, he mused.

"What do you want?" Deeks pulled his boxers on as he continued to pick up his clothes and get dressed.

"Time to go. Let's get your new woman out of here. We've got a plane waiting for us."

Deeks nodded and pushed Kensi roughly to wake her. He didn't like treating her like this, but he had to keep his cover in place.

"Time to get up, Princess. We're on the move."

Kensi rolled over and her eyes widened at the sight of the visitor.

Lance looked on amused. "Not so fiery now, what did you do to her?"

Kensi gasped in pain, the bruises on her arms from the Major had deepened, but it looked like Deeks had treated her roughly which went well with his cover.

"Tom was right about you." Lance walked over to the door. "Ten minutes, I'll meet you downstairs."

**Forest just outside of Mcely**

Anna Kolcheck began to stir, she looked outside the window as the vehicle began to slow. "You've got to take me back."

"Your part in this operation is over, Anna. It's not safe for you anymore." Sam watched annoyance flash across her face.

She spotted her father waiting by a black SUV. She pushed herself out of the vehicle and ran over to him and punched him.

"What was that for?" Arkady tried to protect himself from his daughter. She'd always had a temper, but of late, she was getting out of hand.

"You knew I was undercover to help find those missing women, but you had to go into Sacha and demand for me back, didn't you?"

"I was worried about you."

"You are only worried about what my mother will do to you if anything happens to me, always thinking of yourself first."

"I am offended, Anna. You are my child, I love you and care what happens to you."

"I can look out for myself. Now take me back."

"I can't. Sacha is up to no good, if I do, he'll hurt you. I paid good money to get you back safe. You're coming home with me."

**Ops Centre, Los Angeles**

Nell ran down the stairs, Granger had just walked in and he was furious. His voice was raised as he spoke to Director Vance on the phone.

Hetty looked over to Nell and sighed. There was nothing she could say to appease Owen. He was furious that Callen had been shipped off to Russia for deep cover with the CIA.

"We have a problem." Nell told Hetty and immediately the older woman followed her up the stairs.

"What is it, my dear?"

"Eric and I have just found these images and voice recordings. We've found the leaks, and it's not looking good for our team." They brought the images up onto the screen and played the voice recordings one after the other.

Hetty's visage darkened with fear. She kept her hands locked together, to hold herself firmly still.

Granger stormed in behind her, still in his rage over him being left out of the loop on the team's involvement in this joint operation. He stopped in his step as he looked up at the screen and listened to the voices. A shiver ran down his spine.

It was a conversation between Sacha Pajari, Ethan Wiles, Ramon Donati and Major Steve Hudson. They were all corrupt and it appeared that the only ones not, were Michael Russo and Franklin Worthington. No wonder the operation was heading south. They had suspected maybe one or two of them, but all three, they realised this placed Callen, Kensi and Sam all in grave danger.

"Have you been able to contact Miss Blye or Mr Hanna, Miss Jones?"

"I've been able to send word to Kensi. Major Hudson did a dirty on her, sold her to the highest bidder at the auction. Fortunately, Commander Franklin Worthington got Deeks in and he won the bid for 40,000 Euros. Kensi and Deeks are on their way back to Los Angeles with Lance Young. Sam has vanished, and Callen and Jennifer Ashley were seen taken prisoner an hour ago outside the hotel in Mcely.

"Where's that?" Granger inquired, the name was unfamiliar with him.

"An hour out of Prague."

"Hang on, Sam's on the line."

"Sam, where are you?" Nell looked worried as she waited for his response.

"I need backup. G and his partner, Ashley, have been taken prisoner. We've found our moles. Wiles, Hudson and…"

"We know, Sam. Are you safe?" Hetty's concerned voice echoed over the line.

"I called Michelle in for backup, seeing I didn't have G with me on this. She's with me now and we've followed Sacha Pajari to a villa outside Prague. They've beaten Callen up pretty bad, Hetty."

"Deeks has left with Kensi and Lance Young," Nell told Sam. "They're already in the air."

"We'll have to send in a SEAL team to help. Nell, call Bradford Worthington, his team is nearby." Granger issued out the immediate orders and exited the room, his cell to his ear, back on with Director Vance to update him.

**Záryby, Czech Republic**

Callen moaned from pain, he could feel the blood drip down the side of his face. He lifted his hand to wipe it away from his eye, but they were tied firmly together. He managed to wipe the blood with the sleeve of his arm. He coughed and the pain ripped through his chest. He'd been repeatedly kicked in the torso and agreed he had at least two broken ribs. He looked around the dark room, he could hear water dripping nearby. The air felt damp and he figured he was in a basement of some kind. He was thankful Sam had taken Anna away in time, before Sacha's men came for him. He had been wandering the hotel looking for Jennifer. He'd just spotted her standing with Wiles, when the men came up from behind him. Wiles grabbed Jennifer and threw her to Sacha. Every bit of distrust Callen had for Wiles had been confirmed, he was a traitor. He wished he'd left her back in Prague, kept her safe and gone to Mcely on his own. It was too late for regrets, he had no idea where they had taken him or if Jennifer was anywhere near him.

The door opened and Sacha Pajari entered. "Well, Agent G. Callen, it's about time you woke up."

Wiles had burned him. Anger surged through him and he tried to stand to use his body weight to attack Sacha. But Sacha merely kicked him in the ribs and he fell onto the stone floor. Blood dripped out of his mouth, he coughed and knew he was in bad shape.

_Sam. Where was he?_ The last time he'd seen Sam, he'd taken Anna to Arkady. He hoped they were safe and were somewhere nearby. He had to hold on to the hope that they were around, so a rescue for him and Jennifer could take place.

"Why are you doing this?"

"That is the right question. Why?" Sacha walked around him, a smile spread across his face.

"Your father, Nikita Reznikov and Arkady Kolcheck killed my father. So I am getting my revenge. I cannot find your father, so you are the next best thing."

"He's dead. What has this to do with me?"

Sacha laughed. "Everything. I cannot get my revenge with your father, so you it is."

Anger surged through Callen, once again he was punished by enemies of his parents, it just wasn't fair.

"I don't know my father. You've got the wrong person." He coughed, he worried over how quickly his health declined.

Sacha studied Callen closely. From what Wiles could find, Callen had moved from foster home to foster home since he was seven. Before that, he lived in an orphanage and had forgotten his name. Perhaps he did have the wrong man. But still, he was a Federal Agent of the United States, the country he was trying to bring down in his resolve to make Russia strong again.

"Perhaps you are right, but you are still an American spy. So you'll get what you deserve." Sacha left him alone, while he decided what to do next to him. He walked back up to the third level of the house and unlocked the door to the suite where he had left Jennifer Ashley.

Curled up in the corner, a very scared Jennifer wrapped her arms around her body, shaking her head as Sacha walked over to her.

"Time for round two, sweetheart. You need to remember who you belong to, and what you are."

Jennifer sobbed, this was not what was supposed to happen. Callen was supposed to protect her from Sacha, but he was in no position to do so now. She'd looked at Wiles, shocked over his betrayal. He'd convinced her to play the part of Callen's girlfriend for the op, not once did he say he was working for the bad guy and was going to burn Callen and her true identities. She'd overheard Sacha tell Wiles to dump Callen in the basement, so he was at the same location. If she could escape and find him, perhaps she could get help.

She yelped in pain as Sacha whipped his hand across her face and pulled her up to stand before him. "Be quiet," he demanded.

Jennifer whimpered as he continued to beat her. Doubt that she'd be in any fit state to escape began to enter her mind.


	11. Chapter 11

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**Callens' house, Los Angeles**

Savannah knew from the look on Nell's face something had gone wrong. Her father entered the house behind her sister, he looked livid.

"What's wrong?" Her voice quavered, fear for Callen filled her mind and heart.

"Sit down, Charlotte." Owen's voice was calm, unusually calm for her father, especially with the look he had in his eyes.

She obeyed, the kids were at friends and the twins were upstairs asleep. She twisted her hands on her lap, she felt helpless, that moment in the conference room in D.C. returned to her. She looked up at them, the plea for good news outweighed what she knew.

"Sam and Michelle are keeping a close eye on things."

"But?"

"Callen's been burned by a rogue agent. If Deeks hadn't gotten Kensi out or Callen gotten Arkady's daughter out, there would be more to rescue. At the moment, we know, we have two agents taken captive. Callen and a CIA operative, Jennifer Ashley. Sam suspects Callen went to find Ashley before it was too late, but the agent they were working with, burned them both."

The tears threatened to spill, Savannah tried hard to keep calm and keep hope alive, but it was a challenge.

"Is he still alive?"

"Sam thinks so. What we do know is that he's been injured."

She wiped a tear that betrayed her resolve to stay calm. Her body shook, she knew it was dangerous. The look Callen gave her before he left, he knew it too.

"I can't lose him." She looked up at her father. "Please, Dad, do what it takes to save him."

"We are doing what we can. Bradford Worthington and his team are heading in there now." Owen couldn't stand to see his daughter suffer. He moved in next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "He's a fighter, Sav, we'll do whatever it takes to bring him home safe."

She gripped his shirt tight and sobbed into his chest. It had been a long time since she'd cried in her father's arms.

**Chateau Mcely**

He'd kept his distance, he couldn't help himself, but he needed to make sure Deeks and his team, particularly his older brother, were safe. Franklin Worthington watched on as the guests arrived at the Chateau Mcely and what followed. He was intrigued to watch Sam leave carrying a blonde out, not Kensi like he had expected. Sam and the woman left, then Lance and Deeks, who dragged Kensi out of the hotel. He sighed a little, at least they were together again and they outnumbered Lance. He could deal with him when he returns back to Los Angeles, if Deeks and Kensi haven't by then. But now, his focus was on his brother.

There was some flurry of activity, a woman screaming, she was slapped across the face and dread washed over him. She was the same woman he'd seen his brother arrive with. He continued to hold his position, high in the tree. The camera remained fixed to his eye as he snapped images to send through to Nell and Eric. They were the only ones he trusted, his brother's team had no reason to be rogue in this operation. However, those who've been undercover for some time now, he suspected all of them. He spotted the vehicle Sam left in return, but it stayed in the forest nearby, waiting. There's a dark skinned woman with him and he realises Sam has Michelle with him. He had no idea she was a Federal Agent too, but it figures. Just like George and Savannah, when you chose this kind of life, no one else understands it than another agent.

He sees two men drag a man out of the hotel, goosebumps spread across his skin. His brother. He's unconscious, blood pouring from a head wound and he musters every ounce of strength to prevent himself from climbing down the tree to kill them all. It would have been a foolish and rash decision. He was outnumbered, like Sam and Michelle, he stayed put in his hideout and watched. He needed to act fast, so he could follow them, see where they take George and his partner.

**Záryby, Czech Republic**

Sam and Michelle heard movement behind them. They flipped themselves over and aimed their weapons at the intruder. Franklin raised his hands, "It's only me."

"Franklin? What are you doing here? We were expecting Bradford and his team."

"I had to watch from a distance. If Sacha Pajari met me and George, he'd make the connection, so I sent Deeks to go in my stead."

"We saw you at the party, when Lance mentioned Deeks going in, we realised you had something to do with it." Sam turned his focus back around to the villa where his partner was being held prisoner. He turned his head sideways to look over at Franklin, who'd laid under the scrub beside him. "Which agency?"

"NCIS. Director Vance knew I was suspicious of some of the agents sent in. Never thought three of them were bad. Wiles was a big suspect, I wasn't sure about Donati or Hudson."

"Well it's a good thing you sent Deeks in. Hudson decided to sell Kensi at the auction. Deeks bought her for 40,000 Euros."

"What? That's a lot for one woman."

"Not as much as the woman G bought."

"The blonde I saw you carry out earlier?"

"Yes. Turns out to be Arkady's daughter. She's an undercover Chicago Detective trying to find out where a number of missing women went. G paid 50,000 Euros for her."

"He had that amount of money to buy her?"

"Arkady sent the money through. They met at Sacha's villa in Moscow last week."

"Then I did the right thing sending Deeks in. I wasn't sure what to do, I needed someone to keep an eye on Lance."

"Yes you did."

"Have you seen where they're holding George or the woman?" It had taken Franklin a lot longer to get to this location than he'd hoped, but he'd left GPS trackers underneath Sacha's and his men's vehicles, so he knew where to find them.

"G's in the basement. The woman, she's CIA, a Jennifer Ashley. Third floor," Sam advised him.

"So the two of you, both NCIS?"

"No, I'm retired from the CIA." Michelle looked through the binoculars to scan the area. "I think we can head in after dark."

"So how did the two of you meet, joint task force?"

"Something like that."

"It makes sense, with the line of work we do, it's hard to have a relationship outside of the job." They all understood how it was, the lies to keep their covers in tact.

They saw movement in the trees to the south of them. Franklin looked through the binoculars. "Looks like little brother has arrived with his team." He made a bird sound and waited for the response. It wasn't long before his brother returned the call. Five minutes later, Bradford arrive at their location, he and his team laid down in the scrub beside them.

"What took you so long, bro?" Franklin smirked.

"Really? We're going to go there, now when our older brother is probably still unconscious inside that fortress?"

"Oh come on, Brad. George is tough, look what he's been through before we turned up on his doorstep. If anyone can make it through this, it's him. But most importantly, George needs to know we have his back. That his family, blood and team, are here for him."

**Inside the basement**

Callen moved in and out of consciousness. He tried to pull himself up to standing and he walked the perimeter of the room he was in. He found a pipe, water trickled out of the wall and he moved his mouth underneath for a drink. He'd lost fluids and blood, he needed to keep himself well enough to think of a plan to escape. He heard movement outside, the small grate in the wall above his head would have been the perfect opportunity for escape, if he could reach it. But there was no way in his condition, could he make it up to try and budge it outwards or pull it inwards. A scraping sound just loud enough to echo through the basement from the grate, caught his attention.

"G." He wasn't sure if he was hearing things, was he delirious or was his partner there to rescue him?

"Sam?"

"Tell me your condition."

"Head wound, keep losing consciousness. Hands bound to the front, two ribs broken." He coughed and more blood spurted out of his mouth.

Sam used the night vision goggles to get a better look at his partner. He figured Callen was seven feet below the grate. They needed to get someone down into the basement to help get Callen out of there. He turned and saw Franklin move in.

"I'll go down. Brad's gone up to the third floor on the west wall."

Sam nodded, it was the best solution, he was bigger than Franklin, so he was best to stay there and lift them up. He also doubted he could fit through the grate anyway.

He helped Franklin move down the wall into the basement.

"George, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you.

Callen furrowed his brow. "Franklin?"

"Yes."

"What are you doing here?"

"To take you home. Savannah needs you. Dad needs you."

Callen began to shake his head. It hurt to move it and he groaned in pain. "No, he doesn't. He has you and your brother."

"You are my brother, George. Family. Let's get you out of here."

"Sam."

"He's waiting up there for you."

It took him longer to take it all in. His brother, half brother in fact, who he hardly knew was there to rescue him. Callen looked up at the grate and then at Franklin.

"I'll help you up."

Callen looked down at Franklin, he leaned on the wall, his hands cupped.

"Step up, George."

Callen lifted his leg, his vision blurred and he felt light-headed. He swayed.

"Come on, George, before you black out again."

He tried again, this time he felt a little clearer and lifted his foot into Franklin's hands. He lifted his hands up and waited for Sam's large hands to grab them. He bit on his bottom lip as pain speared through his torso. His ribs scraped along the stone wall as Franklin and Sam helped him up towards freedom. He took a breath on the grass beside his partner, while Sam helped Franklin out. When his brother appeared over him, he blinked to clear his vision. "You're not in uniform."

"No, I'm not. I'm here on NCIS duty, not SEAL."

"Vance, he pulled you into this?"

"Brad and I are more like you than you know, George. We're all on Vance's books." Franklin looked around, scanned the perimeter. "It's safe to go now." He and Sam lifted Callen up and helped him across the grounds towards the forest. They arrived at the wall and helped Callen over. He was in a great deal of pain, but he couldn't make a noise, to arouse suspicion.

He could hear footsteps from behind them, he turned when he reached the top and saw Bradford carrying Jennifer over his shoulder. They were being chased. Gunfire broke the silence of the night. Callen felt strong hands on his ankles, he looked and saw Michelle trying to get him to move down the wall.

"Callen, move."

He tried to move, but his body was slow.

Franklin and Sam turned and fired at the guards who chased Bradford and his team. Two fell to the ground. They needed to get over the wall, they were exposed on this side.

"Give me a gun." He called down to Michelle.

She quickly handed him a pistol and he fired at the men who continued to fire upon them. Callen gave them time, time to climb over the wall, and time to get Jennifer to safety.


	12. Chapter 12

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**Undisclosed location — three days later**

It was like a strange dream for Callen, when he opened his eyes, he was in an unfamiliar room, a monitor beeped, but he wasn't inside a hospital. The smell would have told him that immediately. He turned his head, Sam sat in the chair, dozing.

The door opened and Franklin popped his head in. "You're awake. About time, bro. Thought we'd have to bring Savannah in to kiss you awake."

"Are you always like this?" Callen's voice was husky.

"Only when you scare the crap out of us, and fall unconscious for three days."

He couldn't remember anything after firing at the guards on top of the wall. "Is everyone safe?"

"Yes, thanks to your firing. You gave us the time and cover we needed. Thanks."

"Anytime."

"I think I'll pass on having to rescue you like that again though." He sat on the edge of the bed. "How's the pain?"

"Better than when you were lifting me over that wall."

"Yeah, sorry about that, but we had no choice."

"Jennifer, is she…"

"She's doing okay. She's in the next room, sleeping."

A silence fell between them. Franklin had a lot to say to his older brother, but he wondered if now was the time. But at the same time, if he didn't say it now and waited till he was better, there was a good possibility that George wouldn't listen. So he took his chance. "You know Dad loves you, like he loves Brad and I. We didn't know about you or Amy, not until he had the stroke. But we remember Dad locking himself in the shed and crying. Neither of us understood it, but after our mom told us about you, it all made sense." Franklin paused, giving his brother time for this to sink in before he continued. "She gave me this," he handed a letter over to him.

"What is this?"

"Read it. It's from our father to my mother, written about six months after you left them."

Callen tried to sit up, Franklin assisted him, puffing pillows up behind his back and head. He felt dizzy and held his hand out for his brother to stop.

"You lost a lot of blood, George, and suffered a concussion. It will be a few more days before you feel like sitting up properly."

Callen laid half propped up and closed his eyes for a moment. He hated to feel so helpless, but his body and head betrayed him. When he felt a little better, he opened his eyes again and looked at the letter.

_My dear Gloria,_

_My time here at Virginia Beach PC has given me the time to heal from the guilt and the pain. I'm sorry I've not been there to help you during your pregnancy, but the doctor says I can come home soon, I hope before our baby is born._

_You have always been my strength since losing Clara and our children, and especially so when I asked you to help me adopt George. You have a kind soul, always thinking of others before yourself. I saw my son settle a little around you, I think if I hadn't asked Tom to help me prove that his last foster father had abused him, you may have helped him._

_But I can see now that he was afraid of me. Whatever that man did to him, it destroyed any chance I had to get my son back. I know I fell apart when you needed me the most, but what I saw happen to my son, it was too much._

_I tried to get to both of my children, but the odds were stacked against me. I was betrayed by men who I thought were on our side. Someone burned Clara and before I knew it, I had lost everything that mattered to me. Until you came into my life. You've given me a purpose and I'd hoped that together we could have helped my son, loved him like he deserved._

_I am trying hard everyday so I can come back to you. Tom visited me yesterday, he told me that the man who'd hurt George has been arrested. But it doesn't give me much comfort, knowing that my son is out there alone with no one to love him._

_I miss you everyday. I promise to be there for our baby and for you._

_All my love,_

_Baxter x_

Callen wiped the tears from his cheeks. He was thankful Sam was still sleeping in the armchair. His chest hurt, he had no idea that his father had had a breakdown after he left.

"I couldn't understand why they didn't fight for me."

"From what I understand, it broke Dad to see you suffer. It tore at him for years after. One minute he'd be happy, playing with Brad and I, then a dark cloud would come over him and he'd have to walk away. We'd follow him, but he locked himself in the shed." He sat back down on the edge of the bed, his eyes took on sadness from the memory.

"Mom had just found out she was pregnant with me, when you left. She felt helpless and was suffering from morning sickness pretty badly from what she told me. She wanted to help you. They'd hoped when you returned for your bag, that she could persuade you to stay with them. But then your social worker showed up and you suddenly spoke to the woman. You hadn't said one word to either of them the whole time you'd been there." Franklin gripped Callen's shoulder for comfort. "I think that was when they realised that they couldn't help you and that they had failed you."

"All I wanted was to be wanted. But I was only nine. I misunderstood things. I thought Baxter, Dad, was angry at me, not for me. It took me years before I felt happy in a home again. Five years later, I spent three happy months with a Russian family, the Rostoffs. But I was moved from them again, and that's when I went downhill. Thrown in to juvie, where I taunted the guards so they'll beat me again with their sticks. I was numb. Had nothing left to live for. So I broke out, stole a vehicle and was about to be hauled off to jail at age fifteen. Then for some unknown reason, this woman, so small I wasn't sure she was real, arrived and spoke to me like I was a human being, not an animal. She treated me with respect and said that I could live with her for as long as I wanted.

"Hetty Lange."

"Yes. She worked with my mother, they were friends and she watched over me from afar, until I was fifteen. She saved me that day. If she hadn't come to take me home, I would have ended up in prison and most probably would have died. Instead, she gave me a safe home and a purpose. She fought for me, Franklin. For the first time in my life, I had someone who fought for me."

"I'm sorry, George. I wish our father could have fought for you. My mom too. I would have loved having you as my brother growing up."

"Me too." Bradford entered the room and stood beside the bed.

"Do you mind keeping your volume down, I'm trying to sleep here." Sam opened his eyes, pleased to see Franklin and Bradford talking with his partner. "About time you were awake, G."

"You worried about me again, Sam? I told you, I don't need a mother." He stopped short, it had been a running joke between them for years. He looked at his younger brothers who looked between the two partners, shaking their heads.

"You do need a mother, why do you think Hetty's had you moved under her watchful eye for all of these years? You need looking after, G. When are you going to accept it?"

"I'm with Sam on this," Franklin added.

"Me too." Bradford smirked that familiar family trademark.

"Now I have three brothers ganging up on me. Where's the fairness in that?"

"Now you know how I feel, when you and Sam gang up against me." Deeks and Kensi entered the room, a smile spread across both of their faces to hear the banter return for their team leader. "This is refreshing to see you on the other end of the firing line, Callen."

"Don't listen to any of them, Callen. How are you feeling?" Kensi leaned over and gently kissed his temple, careful to avoid his wound.

"Better, thanks. But it's getting a little crowded in here."

"We'll leave you to get some more rest then." Franklin stood up. "Think about what I said, George." He took the letter and refolded it and placed it inside his jacket pocket.

"I will. Thanks, Franklin."

"Call me Frank. Everyone else does." He smirked and strolled out the door, Bradford following him.

"Looks like your brothers want you in their lives, G."

"Yes, it does." He furrowed his brow and looked between his colleagues. "What happened with Sacha and the rest of them?"

"Well after your shooting escapade, we escaped, Donati, Wiles and Hudson were picked up by their teams and arrested by their superiors. Donati provided the location of the stolen weapons and they've arrived safely back at Pendleton four hours ago."

"Sacha?"

A smile spread across Sam's face. "You shot him, G. He died before he made it to the hospital. That was one hell of a shot you made from that wall in the condition you were in." Sam shook his head, he still couldn't believe it. "Michelle, Frank and I had to help you down from that wall, you were lights out."

"I fell unconscious on the wall?"

Sam nodded. "It's a good thing we were all there, you could have fallen and killed yourself. And how would I be able to explain that to Savannah?"

"She must be worried sick…"

"I have been." Savannah entered the room, relieved to see her husband awake. She studied him, but he looked like he was going to be okay. She moved in and laid down beside him on the bed.

"How did you get here? Whose looking after Samuel and Nathan?"

"You really don't know where you are?"

"No."

Savannah pressed her lips on his cheek. "You're back in Los Angeles. This house is Frank's. He brought you back here to recover."

"I am?"

"Yes. You have no idea that I've been laying beside you for the past day and a half since you arrived?"

"No. The last thing I remember is shooting from the wall, outside Prague."

Savannah looked over to Sam. "Thanks for sitting with him while I fed the boys."

"No problem, Sav. We'll leave the two of you alone."

"Thanks, Sam. For having my back over there and rescuing me."

"Anytime, G. Anytime."

They left them to be alone, it had been a long almost two weeks apart for the newlyweds. They found Franklin and Bradford talking outside, Franklin had just gotten off a call and was pressing numbers to place another. Neither of them looked happy.

"Wonder what that's about?" Deeks motioned to the brothers outside.

"I've never seen them like this. Franklin's usually quite jovial," Sam replied. Curiosity getting the better of him, he walked outside to join them.

"What's the matter?" Sam approached Bradford, while Franklin remained on his cell.

"Mike Russo's body was found washed up on the beach, half a mile from here. He was the only agent other than Frank on this op besides your team who weren't rogue. Frank is furious and worried."

"Deeks and Kensi took Lance Young down two days ago. You think there's someone else out there causing trouble?"

"Not sure. The crew you were in with have all been arrested, thanks to all your intelligence gathering. Frank thought we had everyone taken care of, either dead or arrested."

"We should move from this location, it's not safe to stay."

"I agree."

"Hetty has a house large enough for all of us. I'll call her."

"Good idea. I'll let Frank know."

Sam walked back inside to Deeks and Kensi. "We have a problem."

They narrowed their eyes and looked at him with concern. "Mike Russo's body washed up on Long Beach a few hours ago. Franklin's worried, he thought they had everyone arrested or killed."

"What?" Shock rocked Deeks, he'd hardly had time with the guy, but he didn't deserve to go out like that.

"Was there anyone else at the firm beside Lance and Franklin's alias, Tom, that were working for Sacha Pajari?"

"I'd only worked there a day, came here for the party and then left with Lance for Prague soon after."

"Did Lance hint to you about another player?"

Deeks shook his head. "No. He was on his cell a great deal, only mentioned Tom's name to me."

"Lance knew. He knew that both you and Franklin were agents." Sam looked around the property. "We need to move everyone out of here, now." They moved swiftly, Sam dialled ops to update them and Hetty agreed to meet them at Dovecote. It was a hard task to move Callen and Jennifer in their states and Savannah with their babies. But they got them out just before a crew of armed men stormed the property.

Franklin and Bradford called for back up and LAPD sent a SWAT team their way. Kensi and Deeks stayed behind while Sam took the others to Hetty's place, half an hour's drive away.

The perimeter was big, Eric and Nell kept a close watch on the security feeds around the house, to be the eyes in the sky for the four remaining agents. Their agents were secure within the house, but it would only be a matter of time before the house was breached.

"Got an escape route out of here, Frank?" Deeks looked over to Callen's younger brother for direction.

"There's a tunnel, no one knows about it but me. I made sure it was kept hidden from Lance and all other operatives brought in."

"We better use it then. Where does it come out?"

"A mile away, to the north of here, in the middle of Blair field."

"I'll let Eric and Nell know we need a ride from there."

They held off for as long as they could, but the invasion was too strong for them to hold off much longer. They were coming to tie up loose ends, they thought they had the head guy Sacha dead, so who was calling the shots? They ran along the tunnel, it was dark, but Frank knew the way. Numerous fake offshoots built to confuse intruders went off to the side. Suddenly, Frank made a turn and they headed in a different direction. They were thankful they had Franklin to lead the way, it saved time and their lives. After what appeared like a real long time, they arrived to a small opening. It was a good thing that Sam had taken the others away, there was no way he would have survived that long down there.

Franklin pressed in the code and the hatch unlocked. The sunlight streamed down the hole, causing them all to squint, it was a shock to their eyes after the darkness. They exited and waited in the shadows of the trees until they saw their ride. A navy blue SUV pulled up, Granger stepped out, and they ran over to him. They drove off to Hetty's home, while the armed men were surrounded by LAPD SWAT and two SEAL units from San Diego.

**Dovecote**

Franklin paced the room on the ground floor of Dovecote, thinking. Who had he missed? He went over everyone he'd met since going in as Tom Chidley, two years earlier. He couldn't work it out.

"What about Lance's uncle, Leo Clark?" Deeks watched Franklin's mind tick over.

"Possible. But I never saw Lance deal with him over Sacha. I think it's time you and I returned to the Firm."

"You think it's safe for us to go there?"

"What choice do we have? We'll be forever looking over our shoulders if we don't."

"I have a better idea, Mr Worthington." Both men turned and looked down at the petite older woman.

"Hetty?"

"I think it's time I had a new lawyer to tidy up my estate. How about it, Mr Hill?"

Deeks laughed nervously. "You're not dying yet, Hetty. Can't this wait?"

"I would think that while I'm still alive is the perfect time. Shall we?" She winked over to Franklin. "You stay here. For now, Mr Deeks' cover appears to be the only one in tact."

Franklin nodded, "keep us posted."

"You're brooding, Frank."

He looked up at his younger brother. "I missed something. I never miss a detail such as a major player."

"It makes you human like the rest of us."

Sam walked over to them. "You sound like someone else I know."

Franklin and Bradford looked over to the former SEAL. "George."

"Exactly. Always fighting a battle to make sure he gets it right, every time. Cocky when he does, serious when he doesn't. Shuts down and erects walls around him."

"I don't shut down or erect walls."

"No I suppose that's from growing up in the system."

"What's he like?"

"A pain."

Bradford laughed. "Sounds like you, Frank."

"Who are you calling a pain?"

Nell cleared her throat, she'd entered the house moments earlier. She flushed when she saw the two pairs of cerulean orbs stare back at her. It was hard enough having her sister married to one of them, but those Worthington men were handsome.

"You two sound like Callen and Sam." She looked out the window to check they were in the clear.

"Expecting someone?"

"Precaution, after what just happened down at Long Beach, none of us can be too careful."

Franklin nudged his younger brother, who still had his eyes on the Intelligence Analyst.

Bradford smirked, he decided he liked what he saw in Los Angeles after all.

Sam chuckled. "Come on, Frank, let's make the rounds of the property."

Frank smirked as he left with Sam, holding in the chuckle that threatened to escape. "I think my little brother is in love. I noticed a month ago at George and Savannah's wedding."

"I think Nell likes Brad too." He knew Nell for a few years and had assumed something was going on between her and Eric, but when nothing more than friendship eventuated, he stopped thinking about it. Until Callen and Savannah's wedding. He saw Nell blush and he looked over to who had caught her attention. The youngest of the Worthington brothers. "G's going to get a kick out of this."


	13. Chapter 13

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**Harrison Clark Law Firm**

Deeks entered the Firm with Hetty and took her straight through to the office Mike Russo had provided him with. No one appeared to look at them with interest or think that Deeks being there was unusual. With a detour to OSP for a suit and tie, he was slick and merged into his alias, Jason Hill.

"Mrs Woods, would you like some tea before we begin?" It was funny to be there with his boss, pretending she was his newest client.

"A tea would be perfect, thank you, Mr Hill."

Deeks picked up the phone and rang through to his secretary. Five minutes later, a young woman, dressed in a navy suit, entered. Her skirt was tight and shorter than one would expect in such an establishment. She brought the tray with tea to the desk, where Hetty sat.

"Now, Mrs Woods. You were telling me about all of your estates across the globe, how you would like to leave it to your favourite nephew?"

He was being cheeky and Hetty pursed her lips to hide the smile that threatened to spread across her features.

"Not exactly. I've provided the properties in Russia, Prague and here in Los Angeles to my son and his family. But the property in Montana, it's a ranch with horses on it, I was thinking it would suit my nephew and his girlfriend very much."

The girl eyed Hetty carefully, surprised she held so much estate around the globe. She quietly closed the door and made her way up the corridor to the end office.

"Mr Harrison. May I have a word?"

Scott Harrison looked up and saw the eagerness in the young woman and he excused himself from his meeting. "This better be important, Lois."

"The new lawyer, the one who went to Prague with Lance, he's back and has an interesting client with him. She's very tiny and old, and has lots of estates, some in Russia and Prague."

"Jason Hill, the one Tom asked to go in his place, because he had clients in Cuba to meet?"

"That's the one." Harrison pondered for a moment. "What did Lance tell you about Hill?"

"Said that he was dirty, worked with Ortega and Lazik."

"Both of whom are dead making it impossible for them to verify." They had been the competition, until they were killed. "I'll make a few calls to see if any of my contacts remember him. If they confirm him, I'll leave it be. But if they don't, we'll need to get rid of him."

"The same way as the FBI agent?"

"Yes. Lois, watch him closely, but don't raise suspicion."

"Yes, Sir."

Lois exited the office while Scott Harrison made a few calls.

Hetty eyed Deeks as they listened into the bug she'd planted on the young woman when she delivered the tea. It had been easier than they'd suspected. It wasn't Leo Clark at all, but Scott Harrison. He was the one running things in Los Angeles and had ordered the hit on Mike Russo and Franklin Worthington. Deeks needed to be careful because his secretary was in on it too. It was a good thing they'd pulled Deeks' old alias from his time undercover with LAPD, when he was a shady lawyer working with Emilio Ortega. They continued the ruse of Deeks sorting out Hetty's many estates, to delay Hetty's time leaving the building.

"Now, Mrs Woods. What about your property in the Caribbean?"

Hetty smiled. "My son's best friend and his family, of course. They've been good to my son, I look on him like another son."

Deeks scribbled the fake names they had for the members of the team, but he couldn't help to think that Hetty was actually telling him who she was leaving her properties to. Of course, Callen was the favourite, but didn't he deserve it after all he'd been through? She'd taken Callen in like a son all of those years ago. He'd only known Hetty for a few years, Kensi not much longer.

It was strange to even ponder life without her and who would end up with her properties. They always expected she'd continue on like she always had. But as he looked at her more closely, she did seem to be ageing rather fast. They all were, they all felt the effects of gravity on them, but she was the most evident, due to her seventy years of age.

A knock distracted his thoughts, "come in." He looked up and was surprised to see Scott Harrison, one of the partners, enter.

The older man, early sixties, Deeks supposed, entered, wearing a very expensive suit and a smile that was as fake as Hetty's fur trim on her jacket.

"Mr Hill, welcome back to Los Angeles. How was your trip to Prague?"

Deeks stood and shook the man's hand. "It went well, thank you."

Scott Harrison looked down at Hetty, intrigued by her petite frame. "How do you do, Madam. I'm Mr Harrison, one of the Firm's partners. I do hope Mr Hill here is looking after you well."

Hetty turned her face upward and scrutinised him. "Mr Hill is a fine young man and he's doing a wonderful job, thank you."

Deeks hid his amusement over Hetty's behaviour towards Scott Harrison.

"I'm pleased to hear, Mrs?"

"Woods."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Woods." Harrison step away and looked over to Deeks once more.

"When you have a moment, I would like to speak with you in my office."

"Yes, Mr Harrison."

Deeks walked back to his side of the desk and sat down.

"Be very careful, my dear." She placed her hand on his, Deeks nodded in response. He was well aware just how dangerous this Scott Harrison was, especially now he knew about Mike and the attack on Franklin's home.

**Dovecote**

"Nell." Callen tried to sit up, but he struggled, dizziness overcame him again. The sudden move from Franklin's home to Dovecote had taken a great deal out of him and his concern for Savannah and their babies grew within him.

"George, don't move. You've been through enough today already." Savannah tried to persuade him.

"Nell."

Nell entered fully into the room.

"You need to take Savannah and the twins home. Far away from me. They're in danger here."

"You're safe here, Callen. Deeks and Hetty are looking into whose behind the latest attacks."

"Please!"

Nell looked to her sister, before she answered.

"Okay."

"No. I'm not leaving him." Savannah sat back down next to her husband, refusing to budge.

"Callen's right, Sav. You only just escaped Franklin's house down at Long Beach before the armed men arrived. You've got to consider your babies."

Savannah knew Nell and Callen were right, but after almost losing him, she didn't want to leave him. He was weak, but he had the team and his brothers around to protect him and he was at Hetty's home, safe. It was a difficult decision for her to make, but she did need to consider Samuel and Nathan and her other children. She wiped a tear away before giving Callen a firm kiss on the lips. "Don't play the hero. You're here to recover. Let the others do the work." She'd heard the story how he'd fired Michelle's weapon from the top of the wall, giving the others a chance to get out alive and uninjured.

"I don't think I could even if I wanted to." Even sitting up was a challenge for him. He felt tired, and before Savannah had left, he had drifted back off to sleep.

He wasn't sure how long he'd slept, but he felt he wasn't alone when he returned to consciousness. His eyes fluttered open, his vision was blurred, it took him a few moments to realise who was sitting beside his bed.

"Jennifer?"

She smiled down at him, it had taken her a few days before she felt at ease to show her face to anyone, but after the rush from Long Beach to this new location, she knew she couldn't hide any longer.

"How are you doing?" She knew he'd suffered greatly at Sacha's hand back in Prague.

"I've been better." He squinted his eyes to focus more clearly. "How are you doing?"

Her eyes darted away from him, she really didn't want to talk about it with anyone, but she knew she had to. It was the only way to move forward. She turned her focus back on him. "It'll take time to get over this."

Callen watched Jennifer wrap her cardigan tighter around her body. Anger surged through him, he didn't know the details, but the woman before him had changed. He recognised the effects of abuse and his heart felt heavy. "I'm sorry, I promised that I would protect you from him." Guilt washed over him.

Jennifer quickly shook her head. "No. Don't you ever apologise. You asked me if I was okay to go in, we both knew the risks, but neither of us realised that Wiles was dirty."

"I should have left you back in Prague and gone on my own."

"No. We were partners, we had to have each other's back. We thought Wiles could be trusted."

"I wasn't sure, I had my doubts about Wiles, I should have…."

"You saved Arkady's daughter, I know you were on your way back to get me out of there."

"Sam got Anna out so I could get you out of there." He'd failed her, that was all he could think of.

"Do not blame yourself, Callen. We can't change what happened anyway." Her voice faltered. Every ounce of strength she had mustered, began to falter.

"It had nothing to do with you, it was me he wanted, although I still don't know why. He said something about my father killing his father." Memories of his time in the basement returned to him.

"But you think there's more to it, don't you?"

"I do. But I'm clueless to know what." He needed to speak with his father and Arkady. His head was still fuzzy, but his memories were returning. "Talk to someone about what's happened to you. Don't let it eat at you, like I did."

Jennifer furrowed her brow. She was trying hard to block out her time with Sacha, but it was a battle she was losing. It gave her some comfort that the monster was dead. But… maybe Callen was right. She locked her gaze with his eyes and saw his pain. He'd suffered what she'd endured too, she realised. That dark place he went to, to be Vladimir began to come clear to her. She took in a ragged breath.

He gently squeezed her hand. "Talk to someone. It will help you."

She nodded. "Maybe. I don't think I'm ready yet."

"Just don't wait too long. Trust me, I did, I shut down and went down a really dark tunnel that became dangerous. I don't want you to go there." He kept from her how he had managed to deflect his pain and avoided talking to the numerous shrinks he'd been sent to over the years. Nate was the only one he'd become close to revealing some, but he'd been pushed into a corner, talk or walk. He loved his job, so he talked, but only what he had to.

Sam stood outside the bedroom and listened to the conversation between his partner and Jennifer Ashley. He was surprised by how easily Callen could admit this to her, but then he realised it was because she'd suffered the same as him. He walked away before he was caught and found Franklin.

"Something's on your mind, Sam," Franklin observed him. "You worrying about George?"

"When am I not?" Sam sighed. "Is it safe enough to bring your father here? I think he needs to see him now."

"I agree. I showed him a letter our father had written to my mom just before I was born. It reveals the pain our father suffered over what George went through."

Sam nodded. "He needed to read it. It should help him. He finds it hard to accept how much he means to others."

"But he's let Savannah in."

"Yes, but it's taken him a long time to get to that point for him to let another in. Hetty and I have tried hard for years."

"She's good for him. I'll talk to Brad, it's probably safer if he brings Dad here, I really cannot afford to be seen out and about Los Angeles at the moment."

"Good idea. Hetty and Deeks will get word to us soon over who it is that's causing this latest threat your way."

Franklin rubbed his hand over his face. He looked as tired as he felt. "Let's hope they do."


	14. Chapter 14

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**Harrison Clark Law Firm**

Scott Harrison was a narcissist and he treated people around him as if they were there solely for him. If they weren't as fortunate as himself in status, he treated them in like manner, not caring how they they felt. Harrison was one of the bosses of the company, the other, Leo Clark, Marty Deeks had yet to meet. Deeks had only been at the firm a few days before Lance dragged him off to Prague, so he was still gaining his bearings on the people at the law firm. But he'd heard rumours about Scott Harrison and with Hetty's warning to be careful, his gut clenched tight as he fisted his hand ready to knock on his door.

"Come in."

Deeks entered Scott Harrison's office with a relaxed composure, although he felt anything but relaxed. Caution was on high alert and he knew that this meeting could go either way. Fortunately, he had a team of NCIS agents on standby, just in case.

"Jason." Scott Harrison stayed in his chair, he continued to type away on his computer for a few more minutes before he turned his attention to his newest employee. Jason Hill had checked out. A shady lawyer with dealings with others who had dabbled in human trafficking. It was just what he needed right now, with Lance in the wind. He'd had the feds making their way into his firm and associate businesses on the west coast and he needed someone new to help him fix the problem. He was ready for his next shipment of women, they were arriving on a ship into Boston in a matter of days. He needed his drivers to move them across the country without a trace, like they had with the weapons. Harrison clenched his jaw at the annoyance of the bust up in Prague. After Lance had called through to say they were on their way back, Sacha Pajari had slipped up. He'd allowed his own personal demons get in the way of the big scheme of things. They'd not only lost Arkady Kolcheck's daughter, Anna, but his Russian group had disbanded and they'd lost the weapons —- their source of income to pay for their cause in the mother country. Harrison looked up and studied Jason Hill. Blond hair, blue eyes, tall and slim, he was the perfect candidate for his next venture.

"So Jason, got anyone you care about in your life?"

Deeks knew where this was heading, and he'd gone over with Hetty before to play close to his old alias as possible. The old Jason was a loner, no parents or siblings around. No woman he cared about either, because, like Max Gentry, he was a womaniser. He had to be to work in human trafficking.

"No."

Harrison nodded. "Good." He scanned his eyes back over to his computer for a brief moment. "I have a job for you. It will involve you heading back overseas. Cuba this time. I have an employee I need checking up on over there."

Deeks narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. He knew that Franklin Worthington's alias mentioned about a meeting in Cuba before he went to Prague. He knew Franklin hadn't gone to Cuba, but followed them to Prague. Deeks nodded. "Not a problem. Have Lois send me the details." Deeks stood to leave, but Scott Harrison stopped him.

"Another thing. Lance. I haven't heard from him since you left Prague. When was the last you saw him?"

"When we disembarked the plane. He mentioned about meeting up with someone and he'd be in contact, but he never called. He's been missing since our return?"

"Yes. We've had feds snooping, watch your step. We've got rid of one or two."

"I will." Deeks almost made it to the door, when Harrison spoke again.

"Lance told me you bought a beauty in Prague. A real fighter. How's it working out for you?"

A smirk spread across Deeks' visage. "Better than I had expected."

Scott Harrison raised his brow slightly, intrigued. He stood up and walked over to him. "I have to admit, Jason, I had to do my own background check on you. You check out. Don't screw up. Drop this beauty by my house on your way to the airport, I'll keep an eye on her for you while you're gone."

It was a test, Deeks knew, but he didn't like it one bit. "Sure." He exited the expansive office with dread. He'd managed to get Kensi out of the grasps of the rogue DOD Major in Prague without a hitch, but now he had no choice but to send her into the lion's den. He fisted his hands inside his pocket as he went down the elevator to the carpark. He climbed into his alias' vehicle, a navy blue Mercedes and headed north.

**Dovecote**

Callen's mind played tricks on him while he slept. Images of people he knew swept into view, but the places were strange. He knew that the medication he was on for the pain was the cause of his weird dreams. He had tried to resist receiving any more from the nurse when she popped in, but he'd been outnumbered once again and had to obey. His senses had always proved their worth to him over the years and now they were telling him he wasn't alone. He turned his head and opened his eyes. The brightness of the sun shining into the bedroom caught him by surprise. He squinted before his vision became clear.

His father sat in the chair beside his bed, worry etched in his brow for his son. "George." Baxter's voice was barely above a whisper, but Callen heard him.

Callen's eyes fixed on his father's paler blue eyes, faded with age. He swallowed the hard lump in his throat. Guilt washed over him from running like he had back when he was nine. _Why had he run? why didn't he give Baxter and Gloria a chance?_ Then there was the way he'd avoided his father since his wedding day. In a way, if was like history had repeated itself again. He'd run away again. His strength had vanished, he could no longer run. It was probably a good thing that he couldn't run away this time. He needed answers from his father and from Arkady. If only he knew where that sneaky Russian had vanished to with his daughter. Callen took in a ragged breath. He licked his dry lips to speak, but Baxter gently placed his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Don't strain yourself, son. You've been through a great deal."

Callen wondered if his father was speaking of his time in Prague or his life as a whole. Because the truth was, he'd been through far more in his life than he'd suffered in Prague.

"I've been through worse." Callen tried to appease his father. He was a fighter and although he'd gone through a dark time when life just didn't seem worth fighting for anymore, he'd survived. Now he had far more worth fighting for, Savannah and their children. He was determined to be there beside his wife to watch their children grow and provide them a safe and loving family environment. Growing up without one gave him more determination to ensure his sons had just that.

"I know, that's what concerns me." Baxter travelled his eyes over his son's injuries. Fractured ribs, bruises and grazes, a head wound. But it could have been so much worse. "I hear you played the hero and provided cover for the others."

Callen matched his father's gaze, he'd made sure his partner, brothers and Bradford's SEAL team were safe. "I hear I killed the bastard."

Baxter swallowed hard. Franklin had told him about Sacha Pajari. Baxter remembered another Pajari, a fellow KGB officer named Boris. Memories returned, Boris had betrayed him and Arkady, placing his family in danger. He had no other choice but to kill him, it was Boris or his family. A tear fell from his face, memories of his first wife's smile returned for a brief moment. Clara Callen was beautiful with a smile that could melt the hardest of men. It was Boris who had burned Clara to the Comescus, he knew that for certain, because it was only a matter of two weeks after he'd killed Boris, when news had come to him about Clara's murder.

"So they tell me."

Callen saw the pain in his father's eyes and tried to give him a smile.

Tears spilled onto the back of Callen's hand, his father quickly wiped them away. "I'm sorry I've caused you more pain, son. What happened to you in Prague, it was all my fault."

Callen licked his lips, they felt unusually dry. "Sacha told me that you killed his father."

Baxter nodded. "Boris Pajari. He worked alongside myself and Arkady in the KGB. But he betrayed us, told the Comescus who your mother really was."

The realisation hit Callen with a force. His eyes widened. "It was him who burned mom to the Comescus?"

"Yes. I am sorry, son. I thought by killing Boris, you, Amelia and your mother would be safe, but I was wrong."

"You cannot blame yourself for what the Comescus did to mom. You had Frank and Brad's teams kill those who remained a threat. You ended their empire." Memories of watching his half brothers enter that beach house in Constanta returned, but mixed in with his own memories when they went in to rescue Hetty. Something shifted inside of him, and he wondered why it had taken so long. Hetty, Sam, the team, his brothers and Father had all proven that they would kill for him. _Why was it so hard for him to accept?_

"I know, George. But the pain of losing your mother all of those years ago has laid heavily on my heart for a very long time. And then, I almost lost you and Amelia's sons on that plane."

"We got out, Dad. We survived." It wasn't just his father losing his wife that pained Baxter, that much Callen knew. It was also the ripple effect of losing both of his children. One of whom he'd thought had died at age eleven. It had been a great relief to discover that Amy had survived. After reading the letter that Franklin had given him and the information his younger brother had provided about their father, Callen felt better inside his heart. "I'm sorry I ran away. I didn't understand why you were angry…"

"My temper has gotten me into some strife over the years, but losing you.." Baxter choked on a sob, "losing you was the crux of everything. You were the last of my children that I knew was still alive, I couldn't deal with how much living in the system had changed you."

"You can't blame yourself for what happened to me. What that…that…"

Baxter gently squeezed his son's shoulder. "I know that now. But you are my son, if I had proof back then that you were my flesh and blood, it could have been so very different."

Tears escaped Callen's eyes, he had no where to run, to hide from this emotional roller coaster that had taken hold of him. "Why didn't you fight for me?" Franklin had tried to explain, but he still needed to hear it from his father.

Baxter shook his head. No answer could ever justify him allowing that social worker to take him away. "I didn't know how to deal with what had happened to you. I blamed myself for everything that had happened, I got angry at myself, at your previous foster father, the doctor. At everyone." Baxter heaved out a heavy breath. He'd talked about it over the following months at the clinic to help deal with losing his son. "I thought you were better off without me." Baxter broke again. He stood up and looked out the window into the flowered garden Hetty tended to in her spare time.

"I needed you. Why didn't you tell me you were my father?"

Baxter turned, tears streaked down his face. "I'm sorry, son. I know I should have, but I couldn't. You didn't remember me. After four years, you had suffered so much. But the time you came to live with us, it shocked me how badly you'd suffered. I tried, but you were so scared of me. You refused to be alone with me, to allow me to come close to you." He shook his head, annoyed with himself. Anger radiated off him once again. "You wouldn't even say one word to either Gloria or myself. And when your social worker showed up and you spoke to her, it broke me. You had no trouble speaking to her, but to me, nothing."

Callen tried to pull himself up to sit, a wave of dizziness took over him and he swayed.

Baxter moved over quickly to help him back down onto the bed.

"I needed you to fight for me, Dad. I couldn't understand why you didn't fight for me. No one fought for me, until…until Hetty took me home. I was fifteen, on my way to jail."

"I know, son. I know. I failed you." Callen saw the pain and guilt in his father's eyes. "I know I should have fought for you back then, but I didn't know how. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me!"

Callen had no choice but to forgive. If not for his father's sake, his own. It had been buried deep within him for all the years since, with Hetty slowly chipping away at his pain since he was fifteen. His father was there for him now. He'd shown his determination in ensuring Callen knew it too. Callen nodded. He licked his lips again, and looked for some water. His father watched his son's search and found what he was looking for. He lifted the glass of water and inserted a straw inside, placing it near to his son.

"Thanks." Callen rested his head back on the pillow. It was soft and should have soothed the throbbing in his head. "I forgive you, Dad."

Tears spilled down both of their cheeks. Baxter leaned over and wrapped his arms around Callen. It had been so long since he felt at ease to do this with him, to touch him and provide the comfort both of them needed.


	15. Chapter 15

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**Dovecote**

The call from Deeks came through fast to Hetty. She listened to the concern in her detective's voice and she knew he didn't want to take Kensi to Harrison's place and leave her there. The man was clearly a psychopath and womaniser. He needed to protect his partner and girlfriend from the man. But their job took priority.

"I'll speak with Baxter and his sons and I'll get back to you as soon a possible. I'll have Mr Hanna ready to drop Miss Blye off at your alias' residence."

"Thanks, Hetty." Deeks heaved out his breath heavily and sighed. His gut churned double time and every muscle in his body tensed. He couldn't do this to Kensi. They needed a plan to ensure someone had Kensi's back while he was sent to Cuba. But what? Callen was always good at coming up with last minute plans that were off the wall, but solid, and they always ended up getting the bad guys. But he was in no shape to even think of a plan.

* * *

Henrietta Lang gently knocked on the bedroom door and pushed the slightly opened door wider. Two sets of red rimmed eyes met her and she knew instantly they'd finally had their talk.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak with you, Baxter."

"Hetty, what is it?" Callen tried to pull himself up, but his father gently placed his hands on his shoulder to keep him laying down.

Hetty wanted to protect him from what was going on, but she knew her boy too well.

"Mr Deeks and myself have had a successful few hours at the Law firm. We've found who really is in charge with this latest attacks on Pendleton, what went down in Prague and this morning at Long Beach."

Callen furrowed his brow, "Pajari wasn't the one in charge?" Callen had been certain, his personal grudge against his father was proof of that.

"After the news about Mike Russo's death and the raid on Franklin's property this morning, Mr Deeks and I headed to Harrison Clark Law Firm for answers."

"Clark?" Callen raised his brow, expecting Hetty to nod.

"No. Harrison. He's the one in charge. Mr Deeks managed to procure a recent photo of Scott Harrison. Baxter, do you know this man?"

Baxter took the cell from Hetty's grasps and furrowed his brow. He shook his head and his eyes widened. "No, this couldn't be."

"You know this man?" Hetty looked to Baxter with concern. After Sacha Pajari's admission to Callen over wanting revenge for his father killing his father, Hetty's intuition was on the ball.

"Yes." Baxter looked between Hetty and his son. "But not the name."

"What name did you know him as?" Hetty remained calm as she patiently waited for Baxter to catch his breath.

"Filip Marksimov. KGB Major like my alias. We worked together in the people smuggling business. He worked closely with Arkady, whereas, Boris worked closely with me. He vanished just before we found out Boris had burned Clara. We thought Boris had killed him." Baxter shook his head. "We had no proof, but he'd vanished, then we found out about Boris, so we assumed…" His anger re-emerged, igniting fire in his voice. "Arkady and I thought if we killed Boris, my family would be safe, but the Comescus still killed Clara and I lost my children." He breathed out a shaky breath. "All this time he was alive, living here in L.A. as a lawyer…"

"I have Miss Jones and Mr Beale working on finding out everything we can on Harrison. I'll give them the name you've provided us with and see what we can find."

"Thank you, Hetty." Baxter sat down on the armchair, his hands gripped the armrest tight.

"Dad?"

Baxter looked over to his son, Callen had remained quiet during the conversation, but he could see the concern and questions in his eyes.

"If we had searched for him we could have prevented this attack on our country."

"You said you couldn't find him, you did what you could at the time. Nell and Eric will find everything there is out there to fill in the gaps. Trust them."

"I need to find Arkady. His life is in danger."

Callen thought for a moment, it explained why Pajari held Anna captive in Prague, thankfully he was able to get her out of there and back safe to her father. That's if they were still safe.

"I need my phone." Callen looked around but couldn't find it.

"I'll get it for you, George. I've been keeping it safe for you." Hetty exited the room, fear for Arkady and his daughter grew within her. Neither had been seen since they left Prague almost a week earlier.

**Allemand Ferme, Bellegarde, France**

Days had past slowly for Anna Kolcheck, the Russian blonde who thrived on adventures working as a Chicago Detective. Her Russian heritage had been hidden from her employers due to the change to her mother's maiden name.

"You are putting me on edge, Anna. Please stop the pacing." Arkady Kolcheck pulled at his tie, loosening it from his neck. It was hot down in Southern France, his suit he'd arrived in was no good here. He needed new clothes and fast.

"Papa, you are the one whose placed me in danger in the first place. If you hadn't upset these people from our home country, I would have remained safe. You have no one to blame for the situation but yourself."

"Where are you going?"

She'd had enough, she needed some air and peace from her old man. "Outside to clear my head." She walked to the door, but Arkady grabbed her arm.

"We don't know if it's safe to go outside."

"What here? Papa, we are far from Russia and America. No one will find us here. I spent a year here about five years ago. I know these people, they are good people and I trust them more than I can say about you."

Her allegations hurt, but perhaps she was right. He'd not done anything good for her but place her in danger. But who were these people back in Russia who could be after him and his daughter, he wasn't sure. As he was thinking, his cell rang. He looked at the id of the caller and sighed with relief.

"It's about time you called. You took your time, Callen."

Callen fisted his hand to his side, once he was out of there, he would give the former KGB a piece of his mind for being such a pain. If he hadn't had to rescue his daughter, he could have gotten Jennifer Ashley out of there safely, and he'd not be lying in a bed recovering from torture.

"Callen?" Arkady furrowed his brow over his silence. "Is everything okay?"

Callen sighed. "Okay?" He took in a breath and slowly released it. "You have no idea what's gone down have you?"

Arkady looked out the window, watching his beautiful grown up daughter stroke a horse that had been tied up to the fence post about ten metres from the cottage they were staying in. She was good with horses and he realised just how much of his daughter's life he'd missed.

"No, I haven't a clue. You tell me."

"Did you know who Sacha Pajari was?"

"You make it sound like he's dead…."

"That's because he is. I killed him. But not after being captured by him and tortured. Thankfully, my partner and brothers had my back and saved me and my new partner from the sick bastard." Callen tensed his jaw, if only Arkady had been honest and warned Callen, things could have been different. "You haven't answered my question, Arkady. Did you know who he was?"

Arkady swallowed the hard lump in his throat. "You are okay, aren't you? I mean, you sound okay."

"Arkady…"

"Okay, okay. Yes, I knew who he was. But I didn't think that he knew who you were, that you were Nikita's son."

"So you do know who I am then?" He'd suspected over the years that Arkady had kept things from him, like Hetty had. But the former had come clean and admitted she'd known about his mother, not his father. Arkady continued to be shady in his answers, even after Vasile Comescu kidnapped the man they thought had been his father and killed him.

"Yes, of course I know who you are."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"I promised your father. Even after he tried to adopt you, you'd been through so much, it broke your father's heart. I couldn't betray him after Boris burned your mother. He needed to trust me that I would be there for you."

A burst of love flowed over Callen, the old guy did really care. It took Callen by surprise. His voice was hoarse and he quickly cleared his throat. "So you know that my father has made contact with me again?"

Arkady wiped the sweat from his forehead with his handkerchief. "Yes."

"Okay." Callen thought for a moment before he continued.

"Where are you? Are you and Anna safe?"

"Yes, we are. But I cannot tell you where we are, Anna led us to somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. She knows the people here and trusts them."

"I'll have Nell find your GPS location. Do not leave where you are. You are in grave danger."

"But you said that you killed Sacha, who…"

"Does the name Filip Marksimov mean anything to you?"

Arkady's eyes widened, his lips opened slightly, surprised by the mention of his old partner. "Yes, of course it does. He was my partner in the KGB. But he vanished so long ago, we thought Boris Pajari killed him."

"He's alive and well. He's been living in Los Angeles under the name of Scott Harrison."

Arkady's face paled. His mouth went dry and he coughed. He looked for a glass and quickly poured himself a drink of water from the jug. He swallowed the contents, but he was so parched, nothing could relieve him.

"He's the one pulling the strings on our latest problems, Arkady. We thought we had them all, but he's sent men to kill the two remaining Federal Agents on this operation who weren't rogue. One's body washed up on Long Beach earlier today. The other escaped, which is a good thing, seeing he's one of my brothers."

"Bradford?" Baxter had told him about how proud he was of his son's involvement not only in the SEALS but working for NCIS.

"No, Franklin. He's also working for NCIS. He was deep undercover, but he sent Deeks in his stead once he found out that I was over in Russia on the op."

"You are all so much like your father. Good men, fighting evil, to save innocent lives." Arkady poured another glass and swallowed. It was so hot down there in comparison to Russia and Prague. Even warmer than in Los Angles. At least there he had the Pacific breeze to keep the temperatures cooler.

"Stop. I'm angry, just to let you know. It's no fun lying unconscious in bed for three days from being beaten to a pulp. I went into that op disadvantaged. When I see you next, I will settle this with you. You should have told me I was in danger with Sacha Pajari."

"I know, I am sorry, Callen." Guilt washed over the older man. "We will stay here until we hear from you again."

"Make sure you both do. I'm not up to coming to save either of you."

Arkady disconnected the call, he exited the cottage and joined his daughter by the horse. "Callen called. He's the one who got your out. He and his partner, Sam. We're to stay put until we hear from him. It's not safe yet."

Anna nodded, she loved it down in the southern French countryside. "I can handle that. I owe them my life, they did get me out of there."


	16. Chapter 16

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**Downtown Los Angeles**

Marty Deeks stood at his bathroom mirror and glared at the image that stared back at him. Sometimes, if he was lucky, he saw his mother's kind eyes staring back at him and her gorgeous smile. But at times like this when he was troubled, all he saw was the monster he had for a father, John Brandel. He shuddered. No wonder Max Gentry was his least favourite alias, it reminded him too much of his father. Max helped him delve into that pain and for therapy he use it to do good. Once again, he now tapped into that same pain for Jason Hill, to do what he had no choice to do next. To take his beautiful Fern into the lion's den.

A knock on the door to his apartment brought him out of his thoughts, his visage was dark and moody. He walked over to the door and looked through the peep hole. Sam and Kensi stood on the other side of the door. He unlocked the door and opened it, leaving for Sam to close it behind him. Deeks looked out at the familiar downtown Los Angeles skyline. The sun was hovering just above the horizon, the perfect blaze of orange burst into the sky. He wished he could be at the beach at that moment with Monty and Kensi at his side, his board waxed and ready or him to catch the perfect wave.

"Deeks, are you okay?" Kensi worried over how quiet he was. She understood why she had to go, but she also knew how hard this was going to be for her partner.

He turned and looked at her, so beautiful and perfect. She was his soul mate, and now he realised why they shouldn't have crossed that line of just being partners. He couldn't do it.

Kensi saw how troubled he was, she took his hand in hers and gently squeezed it. "I'll have Sam around, just in case."

Deeks merely nodded, but the turbulence in his eyes did not fade.

"I'll watch her closely, Deeks. just like you protected Michelle, I'll do the same for Kensi."

Deeks focused on Sam and furrowed his brow. "You will die for her?"

"Yes, for any of the team. You went through hell to protect my wife, I owe you."

The reassuring words provided him some comfort. "Thanks."

"Have you got Harrison's address?"

"Yeah, it's on my cell." Deeks walked over to where it laid on the bar and handed it to Sam. "Somewhere in Beverly Hills."

"That's the address?"

"That's the name of his property. So pretentious, but that's just the tip of the iceberg of Scott Harrison. Remember Lazik?"

"Yeah, how can we forget him?" Sam studied the detective, worry etched in his brow over his colleague.

"Lazik is like the middle school bully. Harrison is the bully in High School. Be careful."

Sam and Kensi nodded, they understood the risks and Bradford had volunteered to stay with Sam to ensure that Kensi remained safe.

"We will. You make sure you stay safe in Cuba. And Deeks, don't trust anyone."

"I won't."

**Dovecote, Beverly Hills**

"What have you got for me, Miss Jones?"

"Hetty, we've managed to dig deep into the past thirty-eight years of Scott Harrison's life. Then he doesn't exist. With Baxter's confirmation of his true identity and the timing of Scott Harrison becoming into existence, we have what we need to take him down on fraud and espionage. He's a spy in our own backyard. And with that bug you planted on that secretary, Lois? We have proof that he is the man behind what happened in Pendleton and Prague. All we need now is to catch him in the act. Get him to confess."

"I have just the plan, Miss Jones. Thank you to yourself and Mr Beale, for all of your hard work on this one." Hetty disconnected the call and looked over at Baxter Worthington. The questioned laid with him, was Baxter up to it?Hetty approached him, he'd left Callen to rest and he was sitting out by her rose garden. "Baxter, may I have your thoughts on something?"

Baxter smiled over to her, for a woman of small stature, she carried a large presence.

"Yes, of course you may, Hetty." He watched her join him on the bench seat under the shade of a wisteria, that arched over a wooden pergola. The perfume from the roses nearby were soothing to any troubled soul.

"How are you feeling now, after you've had your talk with George?" She silently observed him, his muscles tightened swiftly under his shirt, then relaxed again. It had been tough, but both he and his son needed the talk.

"Not sure. It will take time to deal with everything, but I have hope that we'll get there."

"That is to be expected after all that's happened. But you saw it through to make sure that both your children and their families will be safe."

"Yes I did. But I couldn't save Clara and I lost my children for almost forty years." He shook his head, grief washed over him again. "I can never get those years back, Hetty. And again my son has been placed in danger because of me. I can't keep allowing my past to haunt my children."

"Then lets make a plan to resolve Filip Maksimov for good then."

Baxter looked up, "you've got a plan?"

Hetty gave him a small smile. "I do, but it depends on whether you're up to it."

"Anything for my children, Hetty. Anything."

"That's what I hoped." She slid closer to him and rested her hand on his arm.

"But it will involve you coming face to face with Filip. Are you up to that?"

Baxter took in a deep breath and slowly released it. "Yes, I am."

"Good." She patted his arm and rose to her feet.

"I'll have Franklin bring you when the time is ready. All the others will be operational."

Baxter nodded, he watched her walk inside her large house and flashbacks of a long time ago moved across his synapses like an old black and white movie.

**Downtown Los Angeles**

Sam's cell vibrated, he noted Hetty's id and picked it up, "Hetty."

"Mr Hanna. Where are you at the moment?"

"At Jason Hill's apartment with Deeks and Kensi."

"Good. I need you to relay the next details through to them."

Sam Hanna listened and nodded, his eyes widened then his brow furrowed. "You sure?"

"It's the safest way to go, Mr Hanna."

"Okay, I'll tell them the plan."

"What's going on?" Kensi's mind was racing over many options of what Hetty had told Sam.

"Hetty has a plan. This is what's going to go down."

**Somewhere in Beverly Hills**

Scott Harrison's property in Beverly Hills was like what one would expect. Larger than anyone needed and extravagant. Manicured lawn and bordered gardens, lush with tropical plantings, their scents greeting guests as they drove up the long winding driveway. The house towered over the driveway, like a gargoyle perched high on an ancient building to scare intruders away.

"Jason, welcome." Scott Harrison eyed Kensi as Deeks yanked her out of the Mercedes. She was more beautiful than Lance had told him.

"You must be Susan Sommerwill. Or should I call you by your real name, Kensi Blye."

Kensi's eyes fired anger back in Scott Harrison's face. Her DOD Major had burned her with Scott Harrison. She wrestled the cuffs snapped tight around her wrists, to fight for freedom.

"Whoa, filly. Calm down," Deeks remained rough with her. He looked over to Harrison, "what do you mean by her real name?"

"Lance didn't tell you? We had someone on our side, a double agent who was partnered up with this beauty. She's a Federal Agent, for NCIS."

Deeks looked at Kensi with shock. "Are you serious? Her?" He looked at her with distain, "no way." He continued the charade to keep his cover intact. It was imperative to do so for the operation, now that he was the only one whose real identity hadn't been burned.

Kensi continued to wrestle with Deeks, but she was pushed up against the Mercedes, his body pressing hard against her. "Is this true? That you're a Fed?"

"You'll go down for this," she spat in Deeks' face. She had to make it look real that she despised him. "Both of you."

Deeks grabbed her jaw tightly with his hand. "You'll regret that comment." He was millimetres from her face, his own visage had reddened with anger. He bit her lower lip and slapped her across the face. A bruise began to form on her jaw from where his fingers dug deep into her flesh.

Kensi knew what she had to do, she took in a sharp breath and kneed him in his privates.

Deeks rolled back in pain, "you bitch."

She used that opportunity to run, but Scott Harrison grabbed her. He pulled her by the hair, "where do you think you're going?" Scott Harrison grazed her cheek with his rough two day grow of whiskers. "You're mine now. Time for your punishment."

He nodded over to a guard, "help Jason with an icepack. He's got a flight to take."

Kensi screamed out, sirens blared as LAPD and NCIS vehicles entered the property.

"NCIS, put your hands up, Harrison, you're under arrest."

An LAPD officer grabbed Deeks and placed him in handcuffs.

"Get off me, she assaulted me, you jerk." Deeks fought the battle with the officer, it took two of them to contain him. He was in pain and the sudden tug from behind to stand him up send more pain through his groin and back.

Sam handcuffed Harrison, while his guards and employees were all taken into custody. It was a risk Hetty knew, to take Harrison in right then, but they couldn't afford to leave Kensi alone with Harrison, especially now they knew that DOD's Major Steve Hudson had burned her to him.

"I haven't done anything," Harrison complained.

"Tell that to the judge." Sam quipped, shoving his head into the vehicle and buckling him in.

He walked over to Kensi and released her hands from the cuffs that Deeks had placed on her earlier. "You okay, Kens?" He studied the bruise and graze on her face with concern.

"I'll live."

"You two don't know where to draw the line in your undercover ops do you? Did you really have to knee him in the nuts?"

"I had to make it look real, Harrison knew who I really was, we couldn't risk Deeks being made."

Sam shook his head as they walked back to the challenger and drove back to Ops.

**LAPD, Downtown Los Angeles**

The LAPD officer threw Deeks and Harrison into the same cell, neither were pleased about it.

"Come on, let me out of here, I'm a lawyer and I want to sue that Fed for assaulting me."

"Shut up, Hill." The LAPD officer ordered, annoyed with the complaining.

"No, I won't shut up. I know my rights and I have a right to a call."

"Who you going to call? Yourself?" The LAPD officer chuckled at his own joke.

Deeks grew angry, he rattled the cell door hard. "Let me out, or I swear I will sue this whole department."

"Shut up, will you? You're giving me a headache." Harrison was moody, he was peeved at whoever had turned him in.

Night had fallen, more and more will fill the cells around them, and probably in their cell too, Deeks knew this, they had to act fast. He lifted Harrison up off the bench and shoved him against the wall. "This is all your fault. You've gotten me into this mess, you're going to pay." Deeks shoved his arm underneath Harrison's neck to make breathing almost impossible.

Harrison fought for his life, he couldn't breathe, he needed to wind Hill. He elbowed Hill into his ribs hard and fast, achieving his goal. He got free and coughed, gasping for air.

Deeks moved fast in retaliation, Harrison was responding perfectly. He moved behind him and held his head in a lock until he blacked out.

"Good to go," he called out.

Franklin Worthington appeared from the shadows with his father and unlocked the cell. Deeks stepped out, Baxter moved in and sat down on the bench, waiting for Harrison to return to consciousness.

Ten minutes later, Scott Harrison began to come to. His vision blurred, he rubbed his eyes, who he saw shocked him.

"No, it cannot be, Nikita?"

"Filip. We thought you were dead. That Boris killed you. We killed him as revenge for what he did to you."

"No, you're not real." Harrison touched him and flinched back. "This is a trick. Where's Hill?"

"Who?"

"The young lawyer who was arrested with me."

"It's just you and me, Filip. It's time I got my revenge on you, you bastard. Working with Boris' son, Sacha, to kill my son."

"Sacha was stupid. His vision was clouded for the cause. He died for his stupidity." Harrison continued to cough, he still hadn't recovered from the damage Deeks had done to him earlier.

"Your son is strong and his team are good. He'll keep, my people will kill him when he thinks it's safe."

Baxter shoved at him again, his head made a cracking sound against the cinder blocks.

"Or should I say sons. Did you think I wouldn't recognise your own flesh and blood, Nik? Boris was right about you, you were a spy. An American sent in to infiltrate us. But we all will fight back and have our revenge. Mother Russia will rise and bring all of Europe and the rest of the world down onto their knees. Begging for mercy, when there will be no mercy."

"What do you mean sons, I only have one son."

"Who George? Do you think word didn't reach me about Franklin also?" He laughed.

"It was fun pretending I had no idea who he was, making him do things that would test his conscience."

"You're a sick bastard." Baxter shoved him back, Harrison's head banged against the cinderblock behind him a second time. He cried out in pain, Baxter took that opportunity to punch him in the jaw, his head bouncing off the wall.

Deeks and Franklin ran in to pull the men apart.

"Dad, it's okay. We've got him. He's going down for a really long time. George and I are safe."

Deeks lifted Harrison's face up to see if the man was still conscious. "Come on, Harrison, you're coming with me."

"Hill?"

"Nope. The names, Deeks. Detective Marty Deeks with the LAPD."

"But I checked you out, you worked with Ortega and Lazik."

"Ortega yes, Lazik, no. He was smarter than you, he worked out who I was before you even had a clue. Time for some fun." Deeks grinned like a cheshire cat and led him out to Sam and Kensi. They waited to take him to the boat shed for further questioning. They had his confession, and with Baxter's testimony, proof that he was really a Russian KGB Major, trying to bring down the United States of America.


	17. Chapter 17

**Tsunami**

_Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine._

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**Topanga Beach**

Marty Deeks paddled his board out into the water, waiting, thinking, trying to soothe his troubled soul. The night before had been tough for him and Kensi, but they had achieved their goal. They got Scott Harrison right where they wanted to, and now he was going to Guantanamo Bay.

"What are you doing out here?" To see Sam Hanna, the former Navy SEAL out on a surf board, surprised the LAPD Detective.

"I thought you could do with some company."

"I didn't know you could surf," he studied Sam's form and shook his head.

"Don't tell me you learned to surf as a SEAL?"

Sam chuckled and turned his board, nodding his head in the direction of the wave coming their way. "I'll race you for it."

"You're on." Deeks paddled hard to beat Sam, the wave was building, it was going to be the best he'd seen since he'd been out there. He yelled out a cheer when he beat Sam up on his board and caught the sweet ride into shore. He turned and watched Sam catch the next wave in, he shook his head in disbelief.

"Oh man, you've been holding out on Beale and me for too long. There's no hiding from us now."

Sam's dimples deepened when he returned Deeks' grin. "Who said I was hiding?"

"Oh come on, really? I've worked with you for how long and only now I discover that you can surf?"

"Who do you think puts Callen through the paces to keep up the surfing? Do you think he learned to surf when he was growing up in the system?"

Deeks visage darkened, thoughts back to his younger days returned like a bad case of food poisoning.

"Deeks?" Sam looked over to him with concern. "Talk to me, will you?"

He shook his long wild hair out of his face, the salt water made it stick together and it looked mangy like Monty's did when he washed him.

"I can't, Sam."

Sam paddled hard to keep up with him. "Yes you can. You can trust me."

Deeks sat on his board and closed his eyes. He took in the movement of the water around him, allowing it to encase his soul, to soothe him. "Can I?" He opened his eyes, his blue eyes looked sharply into Sam's soft caring brown ones.

"You know you can. We're a team, if we can't trust each other off the clock, what hope do we have on the clock, when our lives depend on each other?"

He knew Sam had a point, but he'd always felt on the outer. "What about Callen?"

"Callen cares about you too, he's been through a lot, it's hard for him to show his feelings. It's not personal, he's just used to being the lone wolf."

"He's let you and Hetty in," Deeks interjected. The lawyer in him shot out in his defence.

"We've had to work hard for it, and it's not been easy."

"He's not the only one whose had it tough." Deeks words lingered on the sea breeze, somehow he felt it easier to talk out there than on land. Perhaps he might suggest a surfing psych session with Nate on his return.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I was in the system too. I know what it's like."

"I thought you had parents." Sam knitted his brow, surprised by this admission.

"I did, but a lot of good that did me." He heaved out a heavy sigh, it seemed so long ago now, but every now and then a case would bring it out of the woodwork and smack him hard in the gut.

"Tell me, Deeks. I'm all ears."

He wiped his hand over his face, he shook his head, uncertain. "I can't remember a happy time at home. I don't know when it started, how old I was, but my old man became a drunk and beat my mom up. It was hard to watch, I would hide in my bedroom or behind the couch and block my ears."

Except for the sounds of the waves, the air was silent, as Sam took in what Deeks told him and he waited for him to continue.

"At eight, it got hard to hide, sometimes he'd throw an empty beer bottle my way, I had to be quick to get out of the way or be knocked unconscious from the impact."

Anger surged through Sam, but he kept his emotions masked, while he listened.

"I would delay coming home from school or hanging out with Ray, hoping that when I did he'd either be down at the pub with his mates, or passed out on the sofa."

Another set of waves rolled past, but he was not longer in a mood to catch any.

"It got hard to hide the bruises. I had this really nice teacher, Miss Bradshaw. She was always kind, no matter who you were, all the kids loved her. She took me aside one day and asked me about my bruises, I…I couldn't tell her the truth, so I lied. I told her I fell off my bike." Deeks took in a ragged breath. "The thing was, I didn't have a bike, while all the other kids in the neighbourhood rode around on bikes they'd received for their birthdays, my birthday was forgotten. One day, my mom decided to make a big thing of me turning ten. She brought me this red bike, it was second hand, but I loved it. I rode and rode on it for hours, after Ray taught me how to ride. When my dad found out, he grabbed it from me and through it at me."

Sam shook his head, he could no longer keep his calm. "I'm sorry, Deeks. I had no idea. You and Callen, you've both suffered the same."

"I know. You would think he'd realise it, but he sees his own problems and doesn't see that others have suffered too."

"He does, Deeks. He saw his foster brother murdered and even today he feels the guilt of not stopping his foster father."

"I know the feeling, I felt the same when my old man beat my mom up. If I stood between them, I got it instead. But one day when I was eleven, I stood up to him. Ray gave me his father's gun and I shot him. The look on his face when I aimed that pistol at him, he really didn't think I could pull the trigger."

"Is that how you ended up in the system?"

Deeks nodded. "Deeks is not my family name, I was adopted at twelve by the Deeks. Simon Deeks helped get me off the charges laid against me for shooting my dad, he told them it was self defence from years of abuse. He took me in, he and his wife, Claire, they adopted me a year later. They saved me, it's the reason I became a defence lawyer in the first place."

"You were one of the lucky ones. Callen was fifteen, on his way to jail, after escaping juvie and stealing a car when Hetty stepped in and saved him that day. He'd been dead long ago if she hadn't taken him in."

"What? Hetty did that for Callen?"

"Yes. You see, Hetty watched over him for years, she knew his mother. When things got so bad, she stepped in. When Callen was nine, he'd been placed with the worst of the worst of foster fathers. The things he suffered I can't even begin to tell you, it was so bad, it broke him. His own father tried to adopt him, but what he found frightened him. Hetty had no idea who the Worthingtons were and she had his social worker remove him after he stole their car. He ran away after that, and things got worse for him until Hetty took him in at fifteen."

"That's why he's refused to talk with his father?"

"Yes. There's a great deal of pain for both of them, and guilt for Baxter over not being able to protect his own children." Sam sighed heavily. "Look Deeks, I'm not trying to make what you went through any less than Callen, what you both went through was hell. But you need people around you who know what you've been through, so when the shadows appear from the cracks in the wall, we're here to help you scare them away."

Seagulls squawked overhead, they watched one dive into the sea to catch a fish they'd spotted. Others merged to pounce as well.

"I saw what yesterday did to you. You're not your old man. You are one of the most caring men I've had the privilege of knowing. Standing up to your old man took guts, and it's made you what you are today. One of the best cops I've ever worked with, and you'll make a fine good agent once you sign those papers Hetty's given you."

"How did you know about…"

"It doesn't matter, Deeks. You're one of us. Family, and we all stick together. You and Callen are both hurting, and it's important for both of you to know that we're all here for you."

Another wave washed over him, somehow the talking helped.

"Thanks, Sam. I really appreciate you coming here today and listening."

"Anytime, Deeks. Anytime."

He felt better than he had in a while, Kensi soothed him, but this last case brought out the nasties. It was good to have Sam there for him as well, to have his back. Perhaps he should sign those papers, he belonged at NCIS now, more than he had anywhere, except with the Deeks. He'd always remember them with such fondness and he found himself missing them more when the shadows returned with a vengeance.

**Three weeks later**

It was finally safe for Callen to return home. He'd been cleared by the doctor and all of his father's enemies had been dealt with. His father had returned to Washington D.C. and his brothers to their posts at Little Creek. Baxter retired from the Navy SEALS after his stroke, so he returned to Gloria to speak with her over moving back to Los Angeles. He knew it would be a hard decision for Gloria, they had so many bad memories from long ago, when they tried to adopt George. But things were different now. Both of his older children were settled out west and Franklin and Bradford appeared to be busy over in Europe on missions.

Arkady and Anna returned to Los Angeles, Anna agreed to hang around and Callen realised that their time in Southern France had done them both the world of good. The former KGB appeared more relaxed and it had been good to see him with his father, knowing that they were old friends.

Savannah fussed over Callen on his return home. She'd missed him terribly and the twins had been a handful for her, she was thankful she had Nell and Amy around to help her.

"Sav, I'm fine." Callen had never been a good patient.

"Now you are, but you weren't. Don't you think I deserve my time to fuss over you?" She was sweet, her passion and love for him was strong. She'd almost lost a second husband, he'd been determined not to die, but things happened, sometimes they got burned and ended up on the receiving end of someone's revenge. Even when he had no clue about it.

There was a knock at the door, Savannah moved quickly to see who it was. "Deeks, come on in. Callen's resting out back."

"Thanks. Is it okay if I see him?"

"Of course."

Deeks nodded his thanks and moved his lanky body through the house to the back French doors that opened out to the patio.

"Hey, Deeks." Callen smiled over to him, pleased to see him. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good, how about you?"

"Better, now I'm home. You want a beer?"

"Should you be drinking that yet?"

"Yep, doc's cleared me." Callen smirked, Hetty had him on a strict diet while he stayed at Dovecote with her. He stood to get the beers, but Deeks stopped him.

"Actually, I was hoping that we could talk."

Callen narrowed his eyes, he was confused over Deeks' request. "About?"

Deeks cleared his throat, coming here had been hard, but Sam had encouraged him. Now all his courage left him and he felt awkward. "I struggle, Callen. Everyday is a battle to get up and put on a smile. To pretend life is good."

Callen sat back in his chair, surprised by Deeks' admission. His heart pounded heavily in his chest, he had no idea just how hard life was for the detective.

"I never told you about my parents. My real parents. Not the Deeks, but the Brandels."

"Brandels?" Callen raised his brow, this was the first time he'd heard the name.

"I was born Martin Andrew Brandel. I don't even have a happy memory that involved my dad. Ray was my only friend, everyone else was too afraid to come near me because of my old man. He was a horrid drunk, he bashed my mom on a daily basis and when I turned eight, I could no longer hide from him." Deeks stood, he needed some air. "Perhaps I'll have that beer now."

Callen nodded, he understood how hard this was, now that Deeks was letting him in to his past. He walked inside, grabbed two beers and returned.

"Thanks." Deeks gulped the golden liquid down, his Adam apple moved as he swallowed. He put the bottle on the table, it was now half gone. He didn't want to think of it as half empty, he was sure Nate would have a comment about that thought.

"When I was eleven, I shot my dad with the pistol Ray gave me. I didn't kill him, but wounded him enough to make him stop. He was out of control, hitting and kicking my mom, I had to do something. I couldn't hide from him anymore and I couldn't take the beatings from him either. It had to stop." He fiddled with the bottle, turing it around on the table top. "Most days, I think of her kind eyes and smile. I have her blue eyes, it's just as well. But sometimes a case gets too close, and I see the monster that he was staring back at me. It scares me." He swallowed the remainder of the contents and breathed out heavily when he finished. "When I went undercover as Max Gentry, I tapped into the pain from what I went through as a kid, to become that mean, harsh man with an attitude. I had to do the same when I went undercover with LAPD the first time as Jason Hill, to deal with people smuggling. This last case, what I had to do, I had to become like my father to get the job done." He hitched his breath, "it scares me, Callen. That I can be like him."

Callen's eyes clouded over, his own emotion from his younger years hit him with a bang, so alike they were. "I'm sorry, Deeks. I'm sorry you had to deal with a bastard of a father and that you had to go to that length to get away from him." Callen bit on his lower lip, trying to keep his own voice level. "But you are nothing like your father. You're a good cop. When you were shot and we investigated over who was behind it, all we found was the effort you went to, to help a fellow cop who had fallen on bad times."

"You know about Versey?"

Callen nodded. "We had to look into him, his name came up in Nell and Eric's searches. We also know about your time at the shelters, volunteering, Kensi told us. There is no way you are like your dad."

"Sam told me the same thing. He saw how much this last case rattled me. It was tough to be rough on Kensi…"

"But you had to, to get the job done. We all get it, Deeks. Remember when I went to rescue Sam from Sudan? How he had to pretend to be in love with Khaled' sister, Jada, to get her to America to testify against her brother? That was hard for Sam. He has a wife and kids he loves more than anything in the world, but when the job requires it of him, he had to do what it takes. We all do."

Deeks nodded. They both took the opportunity to reflect on their conversation, they remained silent for a while.

"So how's things going with your dad?"

Callen looked up and met his gaze. "Better. Thanks." He took in a deep breath and slowly released it. "We had our talk. It was hard, but now we both understand the other's side…I was just nine, I'd lived through hell, and I was afraid of any man after that. I mistook my father's anger for him being angry at me. I'd become accustomed to it. I had no idea he was angry at the bastard who'd hurt me, or the doctor who didn't care what he did to get the job done."

Callen rubbed his hand over his face, his eyes welled up. "We're survivors, Deeks. We've been churned and pushed around like a washing machine from the tsunamis that came out way, but we survived. It felt like hell at the time, but we've healed and come out alright, I think."

"That's good to hear that from you, Callen. We've all been worried about you."

"I know, I'm not good at opening up, it's easier to bury it and not dig it up again."

"Yeah, you're not wrong. But it does help, you know. To talk."

"Yes, it does in the end."

They heard voices from inside the house and before they knew it, they were invaded not only by the rest of the team, but all of Callen's family.

"Dad, Frank, Brad, what are you all doing here?"

"I wanted you to reunite with Gloria again. We've put our house on the market and have decided to move back to Los Angeles." Baxter greeted him with a smile.

Callen stood and hugged his family, he hesitated with Gloria, flashes of a younger Gloria stood before him before his vision cleared.

"Hello, George. It's so nice to finally meet you properly."

"Hi, Gloria. I'm sorry for what happened all those years ago."

Gloria shook her head. "Never apologise, George. We wished we could have helped you back then." She wrapped her arms around him, and gently kissed his cheek. "You've turned out into a good man, I hear. Your mother would have been proud of you."

"Yes, she would have," Baxter added. "Just like I am. And he did it all on his own."

Callen shook his head. "No, not on my own. There's no way I could have done any of it on my own, it's all thanks to Hetty."

Henrietta stood to the rear, watching on with tears in her own eyes. "You made the choice to be the man you are, George. No one can take that from you."

Callen nodded, his eyes moved over their guests and he spotted his youngest brother, Brad was holding Nell's hand and his eyes widened.

"When did this happen?"

Everyone laughed, he'd been out of it for weeks after the incident in Prague, only waking for a short time while he healed from his injuries. He really had missed a great deal.

"While you were lights out, bro." Franklin chuckled.

"So why are you two here?"

Franklin met Bradford's eyes and smiled. "We both enjoyed our time out here, so we put in a request o move to Coronado and they were accepted. We start there next month."

"This is great." Callen hugged them. "Amy's going to be stoked to have all her brothers on the same coast."

"Did someone mention my name?" Amy squealed when she saw her father and brothers. "How long are you here for this time?"

"For good."

Tears welled up in both Amy and Callen's eyes, as they hugged their family. The team looked on happy, Granger entered the backyard with Savannah, holing Nathan in his arms.

"I think it's time for a toast, don't you?" Owen Granger laughed when he saw their surprised faces on his arrival.

"Yes I'm back, Washington let me out again. It's time to celebrate."

The guys went to get the beers and everyone cheered.

It had been a long road to get back home for Callen, after the continual tsunamis of emotions that washed over him over the years, especially the past few months.

But now he was home and finally after all he'd been through, he'd come to the realisation of one thing that meant the world to him. That LOVE was more powerful than any tsunami that came his way.

The End!


End file.
